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PEKINESE  RHYMES 


CHINESE  FOLKLORE 


PEKINESE  RHYMES 

FIRST  COLLECTED  AND  EDITED  WITH 
NOTES   AND  TRANSLATION 

BY 

BARON  GUIDO  VITALE 

CHINESE    SECRETARY    TO    THE    ITALIAN  LEGATION. 


PEKING. 

PEI-.T'ANG  PRESS 


1896. 


MAIN  LIBRARY 

Hum  fWYEH 
CHINESE  LIBRARY 


PROFESSOR  LODOVICO  NOGENTINI 

IN 

SIGN  OF  ESTEEM  AND  FRIENDSHIP 


751696 


應 廳醒應 廳麵麵 


PREFACE 


I  bring  for  the  first  time  to  light  a  collec- 
tion of  Pekinese  children-rhymes  with  the  con- 
viction that  the  reader  may  gather  from  the 
lecture  these  benefits. 

7°.  The  acquirement  of  a  small  treasure 
of  words  and  phrases  hardly  to  be  met  with 
elsewhere.  , 

■2。.  A  clearer  insight  into  scenes  and  de- 
tails of  Chinese  common  life. 

Jo.  The  notion  that  some  true  poetry  may 
he  found  in  chines e  popular  songs. 

These  rhymes  have  no  known  authors ; 
some  of  them  are  perhaps  composed  by  mothers 
watching  at  children  s  bedside,  others  may  be 
composed  by  naughty  school-boys  when  the  tea- 
cher is  having  his  nap  over  a  page  of  the  great 
philosopher.  At  all  events  they  are  like  wild 
flowers  which  spring  up  nobody  knows  how 
and  when  and  fade  and  die  in  the  same  way. 


VIII 


PREFACE. 


The  trouble  in  collecting  them  was  far 
greater  than  I  had  thought.  "  Tabood"  as  ive 
are  in  Peking,  where  could  I  go  myself  to 
hear  the  rhymes  and  note  them  down  ？ 

Then  I  had  recourse  to  my  teacher,  but 
as  he  thinks  to  be  a  literary  man,  he  grew 
quite  indignant  at  my  proposal,  and  assured 
and  pledged  that  no  such  rubbish  had  ever 
existed  in  China.  However  as  I  happened  ( of 
course  by  chance )  to  take  out  of  my  drawer 
some  dollars,  and  place  them  beneath  his  reach ， 
he  suddenly  abated  his  furors  and  mumbled 
that  "perhaps  I  was  not  mistaken  and  that  of 
course  he  ivould  by  every  possible  mean  try 
to  get  IV hat  I  wanted  ，，. 

A  nd  I  shall  say  to  his  justice  that  he  kept 
his  word  and  the  dollars.  But  when  he  had 
collected  forty  or  so,  his  stock  iras  quite  exhaus- 
ted and  I  had  to  look  for  other  helps. 

In  Slimmer  time  residing  in  temples  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Peking  I  had  large  chance 
of  intercourse  with  the  people  and  could  in- 
crease my  stock  of  rhymes.  I  was  furthermore 
able  to  improve  the  former  texts  and  to  reprove 
all  those  which  being  not  matched  by  oral  tes- 
timony ivcre  probably  spurious. 


PREFACE. 


IX 


After  the  work  of  collection,  came  the 
work  of  explanation  and  translation  which 
was  not  always  easy.  The  people  ivho  spoke 
the  words  often  were  not  able  to  give  me  light 
on  the  difficult  points.  When  pressed  by  me 
they  suggested  something  and  I  picked  up  what 
looked  more  truthlike  and  reasonable ;  never 
did  I  force  or  prefer  views  of  my  own. 

Somebody  ivill  object  to  my  statement  that 
sparkles  of  true  poetry  are  to  be  found  in  this 
book.  That  will  very  naturally  happen  to  all 
those  TV  ho  are  entirely  foreign  to  the  chinese 
world.  Several  rhymes  ( however  few  in  pro- 
portion to  the  bulk  of  the  book/"  are  simple 
and  touching  and  may  be  ^'poetry  ，，  for  those 
ivho  have  even  a  slight  knowledge  of  chinese 
joys  and  sorrows. 

I  shall  draw  also  the  reader's  attention 
to  the  system  of  versification  followed  in  these 
rhymes.  Composed  as  they  are  by  illiterate 
'people  who  have  no  notion  of  written  lan- 
guage, they  show  a  system  of  versification 
analogous  to  that  of  in  any  European  countries, 
and  almost  completely  agreeing  with  the  rules 

( I  )3.(j.io.i  i.i3.i3.23.  3-2.43.44.  33.  54.  35.  Go. yi .  1 17.  i23.  i25. 


X 


PREFACE. 


of  the  Italian  poetry.  A  new  national  poetry 
could  perhaps  spring  up  based  on  these  rhythms 
and  on  the  true  feelings  of  the  people. 

I  took  every  pain  to  collect  the  most  I  could, 
yet  the  work  could  be  by  far  richer  than  it  is. 
Those  who  live  in  freeer  intercourse  with  the 
people  could  easily  add  numerous  and  fine  sam- 
ples of  this  uncultivated  poetry.  I  would  be  ex- 
tremely pleased  if  anyone  would  either  furnish 
to  me  new  materials,  or  would  himself  under- 
take the  work  of  a  new  collection  of  rhymes. 

Any  critic ，  advise  or  literary  contribution 
will  he  gratefully  received  by  the  author. 

I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  express  here  my 
deep  feelings  of  gratitude  to  Mr.  A.  M.C.  Raab 
of  the  British  Legation,  who  kindly  undertook 
the  revision  of  almost  the  whole  manuscript  and 
to  Mr.  Krehs  of  the  German  Legation  who 
kindly  helped  me  in  correcting  the  proofs. 

Baron  Guido  Vitale 

Italian  Legation. 

Peking.  30'、'  (September  1896. 

 '"^^^^•^-^,1*11^'-^-^^^^^^  


INDEX. 


Chang'  ta'i  sao-  Pag.  23 

Che4  ko*  jen-  sheng'  lai?  192 
Cheng!  yiie''  H  -  cheng'  yue^  cheng'  195 

Chi'  tsao''  Chi''  tsao''  170 

Gbiao*  ni'  pan''  r  169 

Chie'  cho  ch'iang^  'eur  165 

Chih''  chi'  ling'  100 

Chin*  ku<  lu'  pang^  34 

Ch'in2  shih'-  huang'  184 

Ching"  t'iao-  kun'-'r  88 

Ch'iung-'  t'ai'  t'ai''  ，r  193 

Ch'o::  ch'o:;  35 

Ch'u'  la  men-  52 

Ch'u'  la  men-  'r  hao  -  sang^  ch'i^  145 
Ch'u'  i'  ch'u'  eur''  ch'u'  san'  ssu*  207 

Ch，ii3  hsi-'  fu''  ，r  ti  90 

Chui'  pang'  tzu:''  ，r  189 

Fan'  ping  ''  lao''  ping'  78 

Feng'  lai'  la  103 

Han-  ya'  ，r  han-  ya'  'r  kuo''  21 

Hao-  jo*  t'ien'  ，r  116 

Hao<  tzu  teng'  133 

Hei'  lao:''  p'ouo-  ，r  125 
Ho-  shang''  ho-  shang'  iao-  ling? 

tang'*  67 


張大嫂 

這個 人生來 性兒急 

正月裏 正月正 

祭竈 祭竈新 年來到 

膠 泥雜兒 

隔 着牆兒 扔切糕 

維 « 储 

金 軲轆棒 

秦始皇 

荆條— 棍 兒 

窮 太太兒 

扯扯 

出 了門兒 

出 了門兒 好喪氣 

初 一初二 初三四 5a 
娶媳 婦兒的 
雜 幫子兒 
翻 餅格餅 
風來 p^f 

寒 鴇兒寒 鴉兒過 
好 熱天兒 
蒿子燈 
黑 老 兒 

和 尙和尙 搖鈴鐺 


XII 


INDEX 


Hou4  ti3  ，r  hsie2 

80 

度 底兒鞋 

/-F*  •fiE 

Hui  hu< 

95 

糊糊 

Hua'  hung-  liou^  lii^  hsien^  ，r 

64 

花紅 柳緑線 5? 

Huai-  shu^  huai? 

31 

槐 M 槐 

I/O  lot  J  Mb 

Huang2  kou3  huang-  kou^ 

17 

莨狗黃 你看突 

Huang2  ch'eng'  ken<  ，r 

128 

黄 城根兒 

>^  >t<^  'ijjv  yu* 

Huang-  tou^  li^  ，r 

175 

黄豆粒 §2^ 

Hung?  to?  li 

201 

紅得哩 

Hung2  hu、'  111? 

84 

紅 M 

Hsi3  ch'iao^  P  pa'  ch'ang- 

92 

直潘 尾巴長 

HsF'  ，r  hsr  ，r  ch'ih'  tou'*  fu^ 

138 

喜 兒喜兒 吃豆腐 

Hsi3  ，r  hsP  ，r  maF'  tou''  fu-^ 

139 

喜 兒喜兒 買豆腐 

Hsii  hsi'  chiaoi 

185 

蹊溪 踏 

'7、        乂、  **r'W 

HsP  hua<  ch'ia'  lai、)  tai''  maaH'ou^  188 

喜 花稻來 遨滿頭 

HsP  'r  hsP  ，r 

198 

專 兒喜兒 

Hsiang'  hsiangi  hao'  tzu 

46 

香 香蒿子 

Hsiang'  lu-  'r 

105 

香爐兒 

Hsiao^  t'u'  'r 

10 

小秀 兒 

Hsiao3  pai-  ts'ai^ 

22 

小 白茱兒 

Hsiao?'  eur''  koi 

32 

小二哥 

Hsiao:'  u"  ，r 

42 

小 五 兒 

Hsiao^'  hsiao^  tzu 

44 

yj、  /J、 子 

Hsiao3  hui-  hui-  'r 

68 

小 lil  兒 

Hsiao-'  t'u'  'r 

93 

/J 、秀兒  ' 

Hsiao"'  nil!  I  ，r 

106 

小钮兒 

Hsiao  '-  chiao3  ，r  niang- 

107 

小 脚 兒 娘 

Hsiao"  hsiao^  tzu 

113 

小 小 子 兒 

Hsiao'  hsiao^  tzu 

127 

小 小 子 兒 

INDEX 


XIII 


flsiao3  ch'in?  chiao>  131 

HsiaoS  san'  ，r  I'a'  mai  134 

Hsiao^  hao'*  tzu  135 

Hsiao3  ta^  chie^  142 

Hsiao3  yiian?  'r  149 

Hsiao^  san'  'r,  hsiao^  san,  ，r  164 

Hsiao-  t'ao'  ch'i^  179 

Hsiao3  ta''  chie3  187 

Hsiao"  hsiao3  tzu  k'ai'  p'u^  ，r  1% 

Hsiao:;  ku'  niang-  tsuo^  i'  meng^  196 

Hsiao3  p'ang'  hsiao^  tzu  204 

Hsiao3  p'angi  kot  219 

Hsint  ta3  i'  pa^  ch'ao  hu-  65 

Hsin'  ku'  niang-  shih?  chP  la  143 
I'  chin^  men-  hsP  ch'ung'  ch'ung*  66 

I'  ya'  eur*  ya'  69 

I'  fu'  k'uang'  77 
I'  chin''  men-  ，r  hei'  ku<  lung< 

tung^  147 

I'  ko'*  chien<  ，r  176 
Jihi  t'ou^  ch'u<  lai-  i'  tieif'  hung?  25 
Kao'  kao'  shan'  shang^ you'll'  chia'  45 
Kao'  kao'  shan<  shang'*  i'  tsuo'* 

hsiao  '  miao'*  64 
Kao  I  kao'  shan>  shang''  i'  luo'' 

chuaa'  79 
Kao'  kao'  shan'  shang'  i'  k'o'  hao'  104 


Kao'  kao'  shan'  shang' i'  tsuo  lou- 108 


小 秦椒兒 
小三 兒他媽 
小 耗子兒 
小大姐 
小元兒 

小三兒 小三兒 
小 陶氣兒 
小大姐 

小小 f 開鋪兒 
小^ 娘 作一夢 
小胖 小子兒 
小胖哥 

新打一 把茶壺 
新姑 娘十幾 
一 進門兒 喜冲冲 
一 呀二呀 
一副筐 

一進 門兒黑 piSP 冬 
一 個毽兒 
曰 50 出來 一照紅 
高 高山上 有一家 

高高 山上一 座小廟 

高 高山上 一落磚 
高 高山上 一顆蒿 
高 高山上 一座櫻 


XIV 


INDEX 


Kao'  kao'  shan'  shang''  i'  k'o'  ma^  116 

问 m  [U  jL  一  m 麻 

Kao'  kao'  sban'  shangi  iou^  ko^ 

hsiao3  miao^ 

119 

咼 山 上 有個刁 、屬 

Kao'  kaoi  shan'  shangM'  tsuo''  lou^  148 

1^ 向山 Jl  ~ "座樓 

Kao'  kao'  shan'  shangM'  uo'  chu' 

190 

'&               if,       U  X 仏 

局局山 丄一简 猪 

Kao'  kao'  shan'  shangM'  ko''niu2  205 

问局 山上一 個午 

ITan  1  ，i»  Iran  I  'r» 
JVC  11      1    Hell  X 

IDC 

服兄 5fH 兄 

IT"  4  nil              1  1  cVllll?  cYliiaii  nVt  t\t\^  In 

IVU   pu    lU   1   oUiU   oIlUcl   uUaU  la 

觀小侍 ~  B^m  W 

JVU''  K  aO^  CuO"  KIT'  lftl、 

lyy 

鼓靠 着鼓來 

IVU     lUUg  IfUIlg 

OA  n 

毂洞洞 

JLiSt'  la*  CflU* 

*^ 大鋸 

IjR'  in   KU   ll【 CO  0 '  Sail'  KO*  KO' 

I  DO 

III 

Lan?  tien^  ch，ang3 

A  AJ 
lUl 

itfc  iTtt 

藍 u 疋 m 

Lao*^  t，ai'  t，ai'*  chiao*  maoi 

J  on 

老太太 》4猫 

lii;  la  ch'iu'  lai-  li*  la  ch'iu* 

立 了秋來 立了秋 

Li^  11*  11*  1"  cnan*  r 

JL  JL  -U   _LL  兄 

Liang*^  chih*  la' 

loo 

雨枝蠟 

Ling-  lung' t 

no 

玲瓏塔 

Luo'  kuo'  tzu  CO  iao、 

r  r 

00 

m 鍋子橘 

LUO*  t'02  luo'*  t，02  S04  SO* 

110 

IM^g^K 噻噻 

'Luo?  kuo<  ，r  ch'iao^ 

124 

羅 鍋兒橋 

Ma?  tzu^  ma2 

12 

痲子癞 

Ma-  tzu3  kueP 

187 

：麻 子 鬼 

Mai3  i'  pao* 

208 

賈一包 

Mei-  mu4  ，r 

97 

煤糢兒 

Men'  ，r  ch'iao'  ti  pang'  pang' 

178 

門 52 敲 的梆梆 

Miao'  liHi  ho^  shang''  la'  ta'*  suo「 

466 

廟裏 的和尙 拉大頌 

Miao''  men-  tuei''  miao''  men-  'r 

191 

廟門對 廟門兒 

INDEX 


Mie'  mie'  yang'  62 

Muo4  Ii'i  hua'  ，r  ti  change  fu'  153 

Nan'  chingi  ta'*  liou"  shu'*  216 

Ni?  ni-  ni'  ni?  puo<  puo'  47 

Ni3  ma'  ch'i'  m 

iaoi  sha'  nP  iao''  sha^  208 

Niao'  niao'  niao'  192 

Nien- nien-  iou';  ko''  san<  yiie*  san'  215 

Niu'  ，r  iao''  ch'ih'  mien^  49 

Pa'  hsien'  chuo*  ，r  137 

Pai2  Vsfi  ssu4  186 
Pienl'  p'ao''  i'  hsiang:;  pa''  chang' 

k'ai^  209 

P，mg2  tso?  men?  la«  ta^  kungi  155 

Sani  V  san'  'r  60 

Sungi  chih'  ，r  shu^  173 

Sung'  pai3  chih'  ，r  176 

Sbai  t'u3  ti*  ，r  9 

Shangi  ku'  lu^  t'ai'  2 

Shih?  liou4  huat  ，r  ti  chie^  28 

Shih4  shuF  p'aii  uo^  ti  men?  ，r  194 

Shou^  hsing'  lao3  ，r  fu-  lu'*  hsing<  219 

Shu^  ye^  ，r  ch'ing*  38 

Shu4  ye^  ，r  hei'  78 

Shui?  ken'  uo^  uan^  ，r  14 

ShueP  niu^  ，r  shueP  niu^  ，r  48 
Shuo'  k'ai'  ch'uan'  chiou''  k'ai' 

ch'uan'  161 


晬畔羊 

荥 莉花兒 的丈夫 
南京 大柳樹 
泥 泥泥泥 薛薛 
你 媽 七 

你要奢 你要奢 

鳥 鳥 鳥 

年 年有個 三月三 
妞 兒要吃 S 
八 仙 掉 兒 
白塔寺 

鞭 炮一晌 把張開 
平則門 粒大弓 
三 兒三兒 
松 枝兒樹 
松 柏枝兒 
沙 土地兒 
上$^| '轆台 
石榴花 兒的姐 
是 誰柏我 的門兒 
壽 星老兒 福祿星 
樹 葉兒靑 
樹 葉兒黑 
誰跟 我頭兒 
水牛兒 水牛兒 

說開船 就開船 


XVI 


INDEX 


Ta'  lien'  ，r  ta' 

Ta'  lien-  ，r  ta' 

Ta"  hua'  pa'  chang-' 

Ta"  luo~  ，r  shai' 

Ta3  luo?  'r  shai' 

Ta4  t'u'  tzu"  to?  ping* 

Ta4  niang?  tzu^  ho'  chiou^ 

Ta''  fan'  ch'o' 

Ta'*  ko>  ko'  eur'*  ko'  ko' 

Ta4  niang-  eur''  niang-  ts'ai' 

T'ao?  shu*  ye'*  'r  chien' 

Til  ti'  ti' 

T,i4  teng'  kun'  ，r 

T'iao'  shueP  ti  ko' 

T'ien'  huang?  huang- 

T，ie3  ts'an'  tou^ 

Tou''  ya^  ts'ai  ^ 

T'ou?  pien'  hui! 

T'u'  tzu'>  t'u' 

T，ui  t'u'  ch'a'> 

Tu3  li2  ，r  shu-* 

Timgi  yii^  miao'^ 

Tung'  tung'  tung' 

Tsao''  uang-  ye- 

Tzu3  pu4  tzu3 

Uo3  i»  ko4  ta*  eur?  tzu 

Uo3  eur-  tzu  shuei''  chiao''  la 

Uo3  ti'  eur?  uo^  ti'  chiao' 


53  ？笞 連兒搭 

59  ？ i 連兒搭 

72 打 花巴掌 
76 打 羅兒篩 

ISO  fir 羅兒歸 
36 大, 子得病 

57 大娘子 喝 酒 

63 大翻車 
194 大， 哥 5 哥哥 
202 大娘 二娘猜 
112 桃樹 葉兒尖 
171 滴滴滴 

27 剔 燈棍兒 

7 挑 水的哥 
211 天皇皇 

89 鐡蠶豆 
183 豆芽茱 

213 頭遍灰 
58 秀子秃 

83 杜 黎兒樹 
56 東嶽廟 
146 

2i2 竈王爺 
159 紫不紫 

15  ^一個 大兒子 
丄6 我兒子 睡覺了 
182 我的兒 我的妓 


INDEX 


XVII 


Ya'  t'ou?  yai 

Yang^  shu4  ye'*  ，r 

Yang2  pa'  pa'  tan^  ，r 

Yang3  huo'  chu'  ch'ih'  k'ou"  jou'* 

Ye-  ye-  pao^  sun*  tzu 

Yen^  pien'  hu- 

You3  ko''  niu'  ，r  pu''  hai^  sao'* 
You:}  ko'*  hsiao^'  t'u'  ，r 
You3  pien'  ，r  you^  pieni  'r 
Yue^  liang^  ye^ 
Yue'*  liang'*  ye- 
Yue'*  liang*  ye- 


97  丫 頭 丫 

6 楊 樹葉兒 
IS 羊巴 巴蛋兒 
•97 養活猪 吃口肉 
L06 爺 抱孫子 
-29 簷蝙蝠 
2i 有 個紐兒 不害羞 
22 有個 小秀兒 本姓高 
^44 有邊兒 有邊兒 
LSO 月亮爺 
月亮爺 
月亮爺 


一  rr^ir^w^:?'^^  - 


PEKING.  一  Pei-t'ang  Press. 


PEKINESE  BABY-SONGS 


NOTES 

Singing  these  words,  the  mother  or  any  elder 
of  the  family  takes  the  baby  by  the  hands  and 
pushes  him  for  and  backwards  as  if  it  was  really  the 
matter  of  drawing  a  saw.  姥姥 家 lao  "'  lao'  chia',  the 
family  of  the  mother's  mother.  娶娘子 ch'ii^  niang- 
tzu,  goes  to  fetch  the  bride  for  her  son,  niang^-tzu  is  the 
name  for  a  wife,  and  here  it  is  used  instead  of 新 
姑娘 hsin'-ku'-niang-,  the  real  term  for  a  bride.  搭 
大 棚 ta'-ta'-p'eng-,  they  raise  a  large  matshed.  The 
Chinese  houses  have  not  generally  large  rooms, 
therefore  in  marriage,  death,  anniversary,  and  other 
occasions  in  which  many  guests  are  to  be  invited, 

1 


棚戲娘 婿甥去 

； 」  大大姑 女外也 

一 .  搭唱接 請小你 

^  I 

一  鋸鈮頭 子家子 

大大木 房 姥娘 

拉枇鈮 蓋姥娶 


an  additional  matshed  is  raised  in  the  court-yard. 
大 戲 t"s"  a  play  performed  in  the  matshed  by 
hired  actors,  an  amusement  much  liked  by  the 
'Cbinese^^  ^^t  whfch  only  rich  people  can  afford  to 
h'aVb  in:  th^fi-'lVoWs.  接姑娘 g 靑女 婿 chie'  ku'- 
fei'an^%<^l£'ing^. ijij^.-ihsu.^ ,•  .th e  grandmother  with  her  family 
invites  on  this  marriage  occasion  her  married 
daughters  and  their  husbands.  夕卜 甥 uai^-sheng', 
is  the  name  by  which  a  sister's  son  is  designed. 

TRANSLATION 

( People )  draw  the  saw  ―  pull  the  saw  一  saw 
the  wood  ―  build  rooms  一  the  grandmother  and 
her  family  go  to  fetch  the  bride  ―  a  large  mat- 
shed is  raised  ―  in  which  a  play  is  performed  ―  and 
they  come  to  take  home  the  married  daughters  ― 
and  to  invite  their  husbands  ―  small  nephew  ―  do 
you  want  also  to  go  ？ 


來 

n  茶 

台 二口媽 

轆轆 媽香香 

軲軲 家也也 

上下 張茶酒 


— 3  — 


NOTES 

車 輔台 ku'  lu'  t'ai',  a  rounded  stone  placed 
Some  times  outside  the  outerdoors  to  sit  on.  麻 
\^  ma?-leng4  is  the  dragon  fly  (libellula  virgo);  it  ought 


牙 

包 

去飯老 

裳  拉家 扎 轄煞兒 家家米 兒的 

衣  水 腿惱到 馬人^ 兒 等阿那 親我老 茶瓣兒 

0  口 練別來 白 俏鼠針 二問上 贈到的 奶四物 

m  一 花你車 車 個銀小 個兒你 兒家兒 就夾厭 

0  着 姐姐兒 轔 着襖包 了門煞 親成 餑榔個 

個動 IS 含小小 後車轆 坐皮荷 * 車阿 南了現 錚檳這 

八不麻 愣了姐 兒麽毂 頭鼠子 南着煞 到完家 子南你 

十駝叫 麻噴小 明甚紅 裏灰對 解把阿 我瞧我 達安絡 


一  4  一 


to  be  correctly  written 媽 娜 and  pronounced  ma'- 
lang^,  I  have  however  preferred  the  more  popular  and 
incorrect  form  as  the  sounds  and  the  tones  of  the 
characters  correspond  to  the  Pekinese  pronunciation, 
and  the  correct  form  is  popularly  unknown.  含 着 
hen-cho,  holding  something  in  the  mouth  without 
showing  it.  The  correct  pronunciation  of  the 
character 含 is  han-,  as  it  is  also  pronounced  in  vulgar 
phrases  as  for  instance 暗含着 an''  han^  cho,  hiddenly, 
without  showing,  said  sometimes  of  a  meaning 
hidden  in  words  which  pretend  not  to  say  anything. 
械 腿 k，u4  t'uei-',  cloth-bands  wrapped  around  the 
ankles  of  ladies  with  small  feet.  輸 取 chiao'*  ch，o'， 
sort  of  cart  longer  than  the  ordinary  one,  used  only 
by  the  upper  mandarin  classes.  悄 人 家 chMao^ 
jen2  chia',  a  beautiful  woman.  灰 鼠 huei'-shu",  the 
grey  squirrel.  皮 澳 p'i'-ao^,  Chinese  overcoat  lined 
with  fur.  銀 鼠 yin 乙 shu'i,  the  white  squirrel.  對 
子 tuei^-tzu,  a  pair  ；  the  numeral  ―  one  is  wanting. 
荷 包 ho?  -pao'，  a  small  side-pouch  in  which  the 
Chinese  keep  banknotes,  or  even  betel-nuts.  小 
針 兒 hsiao'-chen'-eur,  a  small  needle  used  by  women 
to  work  flowers  on  a  cloth.  This  working  different 
from  the  embroidery  is  called 扎 cha'. 轄 hsia',  the 
character  ought  to  be  pronounced  in  the  second 
tone,  but  here  is  pronounced  in  the  first  because 
it  is  only  used  to  represent  the  Manchu  word  hiyd 
meaning  a  body-guard  of  the  sovereign  ；  this 
word  is  very  often  used  in  Peking  instead  of  the 
Chinese  equivalent 侍衞 shih''-w8i''.    阿煞 a''-sha'，  two 


— 5  - 


characters  which  represent  the  Manchu  word  asha 
meaning  one's  elder  brother's  wife,  and  is  used  in  the 
same  complimentary  way  and  in  the  same  meaning 
as  the  Chinese 嫂 子 sao^-tzu.  達子薛 孛 ta^-tzu  puo'- 
puo'，  tartar-cakes  many  of  which  keep  yet  their  old 
Manchu  names,  and  are  largely  used  in  Peking. 
奶 茶 naP-ch'a?,  "milk-tea".  安南植 鄉 ani-nan?- 
pingi-Iang ？，  Annamlte  betel-nuts.  夾四辦 §3  chia'- 
ssu''-pan4  ，r，  which  are  cut  in  four  pieces.  5§  ko* 
character  not  mentioned  in  any  dictionary  ；  it  means 
to  stick  in  the  teeth,  and  also  to  hinder,  to  hurt. 
厭 物 兒 yeii4  u4，r，  despising  term  for  a  person  who 
disgusts  people  ；  it  could  be  translated  "  you 
worrying  thing  ！"  包牙 pao'  ya-,  it  is  said  of  the 
front  teeth  when  they  protrude  under  the  upper  lip. 


TRANSLATION 

Goes  up  the  sitting-stone  一  comes  down  from 
the  sitting  stone  (！ ).  The  old  lady  Chang  comes  to 
pour  tea  ―  the  tea  is  fragrant  ―  the  wine  is  fragrant 
一  ten  camels  are  loaden  with  clothes  ―  they  are 
unable  to  move  on  ―  and  they  call  the  dragon-fly 
― the  dragon  fly-with  the  mouth  full  of  water  一 
spurts  the  young  lady's  figured  ankle-bands  ― young 
lady,  young  lady  do  not  get  cross  ―  to-morrow  or 
after  to-morrow  the  cart  shall  arrive  ―  what  cart  ？ 
― a  chair-cart  with  red  wheels,  drawn  by  a  white 
horse  ―  and  inside  there  sits  a  beautiful  woman  ― 
who  wears  an  over  coat  lined  with  grey  squirrel 


fur  and  a  jacket  lined  with  ermine  fur  ―  and  has 
with  her  a  pair  of  side-pouches  with  flowers  worked 
on  it  by  the  small  needle  ―  then,  comes  from  the 
south  direction  an  Imperial  body-guard  of  the 
second  class  ―  who  leaning  to  the  cart-door  asks 
his  sister-in-law ― sister-in-law,  sister - in  law, 
where  do  you  go? ― "I  am  going  towards  South 
to  pay  a  visit  to  my  family" ― "When  you  have 
already  paid  a  visit  to  your  family,  come  to  my 
house.  ―  I  have  at  home  ready-cooked  old  rice  ― 
tartar  cakes  and  tea  milk  ―  but  the  Annamite  betel- 
nuts  cut  in  four  pieces  ―  shall  break  the  protruding 
old  front  teeth  of  you  worrying  thing  ！ " 


III 


媧 

罷 
他 

NOTES 

楊樹 yang2  shu'',  the  poplar  (latin  popiiliis)  this 
tree  is  in  China  very  commonly  seen  in  burial 
grounds.    The  Chinese  say  that  its  leaves  stir  even 


找你我 

覺 兒了 

兒  睡貝來 

葉拉 兒寳子 

樹拉 孩乖虎 

裼曄 小乖螞 


一  7  一 


without  wind,  and  that  the  noise  produced  by  their 
stirring,  moves  to  sadness.  哮 -拉拉 hua' la' 1 &'，  pro - 
nounced  as  one  word,  is  imitative  of  the  noise.  This 
sad  introduction  is  supposed  to  scare  the  boy  and  to 
get  him  sooner  asleep.  乖乖 kuai'-kuai',  means  to 
kiss  as  Chinese  mothers  kiss  their  children  in 
somewat  a  different  way  than  the  Europeans.  The 
same  expression  is  used  too  to  say :  be  quiet  ！  dont 
be  saucy  ！  ―  probably  the  two  meanings  melt  in  one, 
as  the  second  may  simply  be  a  promise  of  a  kiss  if 
the  boy  will  be  quiet.  Another  common  form  for 
the  last  meaning  is  adverbially  formed  so, 乖乖兒 


的 kuai''  kuai'*，r  ti.  媽虎子 ma*  liu:!  tzu,  a  phantastic 
monstruos  creature  spoken  of  and  called  every  time 
it  is  thought  proper  to  scare  a  baby. 


-  The  poplar  leaves  ―  are  stirring  ―  the  baby  is 
about  to  sleep  and  looks  for  his  mother  ―  be  a  good 
boy,  my  treasure,  get  asleep  ―  if  the  bogie  comes, 
I'll  beat  him. 


TRANSLATION 


IV 


祧 水 

聽 着 
南 河 


的 
我 

沿 


哥 
說 

兒 


NOTES 

These  words  are  adressed  by  the  Chinese  boys 
to  the  water-carriers  who  are  generally  people  of 
the  Shantung  province.  As  no  water-ways  of  any 
kind  exist  in  Peking,  a  great  many  of  these  fellows 
take  the  water  from  the  wells  into  the  houses. 
Their  bad  pronunciation,  and  their  awkward  man- 
ners delight  extremely  the  Peking  cockneys.  The 
boys  have  therefore  composed  for  their  benefit  this 
special  song,  which  they  hum  at  their  back,  and 
whose  general  aim  is  to  define  them  as  turtles. 
The  word  turtle  in  China  is  used  for  one  of  the 
most  direst  insults,  as  this  animal  is  phantastically 
empeached  of  an  unnatural  crime.  The  insult  is 
however  so  largely  used  that  people  are  not 
shocked  by  it.  哥 ko' means  elder  brother,  but 
here  is  used  in  the  meaning  of  man,  fellow  in  the 
same  way  as  the  Russians  use  the  word  brat  ( latin 
f rater ) .  竊 uo'  means  not  only  a  nest  but  also 
a  den,  a  hole.  8 西 蓋 子 shai''  kai;-  tzu,  to  dry  the 
shell  in  the^un,  as  turtles  do.  縮 suo',  to  withdraw 
one's  head,  to  retreat.  This  last  phrase  is  allusive 
to  the  fact  that  the  water-carriers  do  not  go  out 
when  it  rains,  as  the  tunles  do  too. 


宿 

子 兒 

窩蓋膀 

的晒把 

你天天 

有睛陰 


TRANSLATION 

Water  carrying  fellow  一  hear  what  I  say  ―  on 
the  bank  of  the  south  river  ―  is  your  hole  ―  when 
the  weather  is  fine,  you  dry  out  your  shell  ―  and 
when  it  is  bad  weather  then  you  draw  in  your  neck. 


V 


他 
NOTES 

沙 土 地 兒 sha'  tV'  ti"r,  a  sandy  plain  ground 
as  outside  the  wall  between  the  Manchu  and  the 
Chinese  town  in  Peking.  丈 人 chang'-jen,  name 
given  to  one's  wife  or  bride's  father.  大舅兒 ta'" 
chiou'*'r,  one's  wife's  elder  brother.  小 舅 兒 hsiao"^ 
chiou''，r,  one's  wife's  younger  brother.  For 他 is  here 
to  be  understood  the  bride  whom  the  young  man 
succeeds  in  spying  through  the  curtain.  銀盤大 


家  見髪銀 

人讓拉 看頭澳 

丈裏裏 兒黑棉 

兒  到望望 簾臉子 

地 .ij? 跑兒兒 竹大緞 

土 白跑 舅舅着 S 白 

沙跑 I 大小 隔銀月 


― 10  ― 

臉 yin2  p'an^  ta^  lien^,  a  big  face  as  white  as  a  silver 
tray.  月  Q  yiie^  pai^,  "moon  white"  means  a  light 
blue.  挖 2  read  ko'-ta'  or  more  vulgarly  ka'-ta', 
here  means  a  metal  button,  it  may  also  mean 
pimples  and  has  other  different  shades  of  meanings. 

TRANSLATION 

On  the  sandy  plain  ―  gallops  a  white  horse  ― 
galloping  gets  to  the  (horseman's)  future  father-in- 
law's  house  ―  his  elder  brother-in-law  invites  him 
to  come  in  ―  his  younger  brother-in-law  pulls  him 
in  ―  through  the  bamboo-curtain  he  has  seen 
her  ―  her  large  face  as  white  as  a  silver-tray  and 
her  black  hair  ―  and  her  cotton  overcoat  of  light 
azure  colour  with  silver  buttons. 


爹 鞋  三 

你帽兒  着 

是纓板  露 

水紅乍  頭 

打着着  指 

. 兒咧 兒戴穿 步拉脚 

秀咧 邊爹媽 一 拉個 

小咧 南你你 走蹋十 


NOTES 


The  Chinese  boys  generally  as  far  as  three 
years  old  have  their  hair  shaven  ；  therefore  a 
common  nickname  for  a  boy  is 秀兒 t'u''r,  meaning 
a  bald-headed.  柳 啊 I 列 lie ''-lie ''-lie'',  is  imitative  of 
the  sound  of  weeping.  The  boy  weeps  and  to  quiet 
him  the  song  is  sung  to  him.  打 水 ta-^  shuei\ 
to  draw  water  from  a  well,  by  a  rope  and  a  bucket. 
紅 m 子 hung-  ing'  tzti，  Red  silk  twists  fixed  round 
the  top  of  a  Chinese  official  hat.  乍 板兒鞋 cha* 
pan-^'r  hsie-,  old  shoes  with  no  heels  ；  they  are  so 
called  because  the  noise  the  sole  produces  slapping 
on  the  ground  is  like  the  sound  of  a  Chinese  musical 
instrument  called 乍板兒 cha''  pan^'r,  consisting  in 
two  small  bamboo  tablets  strung  together,  which 
are  shaken  by  the  fingers  in  a  similar  manner  to  the 
Spanish  and  italian  castanets  踢拉拉 t'a'  la'  la', 
imitates  the  slapping  of  the  shoe  sole  on  the  ground. 
三 san'  is  here  ( as  very  often  in  vulgar  language) 
pronounced  sa',  in  order  to  rhyme  with  the 
precedent  verse  who  ends  with 拉. 


TRANSLATION 

Small  bald-headed  ―  here  he  is  weeping  ！  ―  to 
the  South  side  it's  your  father  who  draws  water  from 
the  well  ―  your  father  wears  an  official  hat  with 
red  silk  twists  on  it  ―  and  your  mother  wears  on 


― 12  ― 


her  feet  old  shoes  with  no  heels  一  as  she  advances 
a  step  ―  it  sounds  t'alala — and  of  her  ten  toes 
three  peep  out  of  her  shoes. 


VII 


子 摔了個 痲跟頭 

痲 燒 餅 

架 痲子勸 

子的 痲腿子 

NOTES 

This  song  is  profusedly  interspersed  with  the 
character 麻 ma?  whose  meaning  is  "smallpox." 
This  disease  is  so  common  in  China  that  very  often 
children  who  have  been  sick  with  it  and  keep  marks 


痲 爬咬拿 痲錢個 吃看打 役子痲 

子樹 又又 的大了 子子子 衙板打 

痲上狗 人嚇痲 買 痲痲痲 痲拿單 


一  13  — 


on  their  faces  are  familiarly  called 麻 子 ma--tzu. 
Furthermore  the  word  is  used  in  other  relative 
meanings.  Here  throughout  these  words,  it  is 
impossible  to  translate  it  always,  as  the  repetition 
is  done  for  the  sake  of  playing  on  the  word.  The 
character  I  have  written  here  is  the  regular  one, 
but  popularly  the  other  character 麻 ma',  which 
means  hemp,  is  substituted  for  it.  In  the  first  verse 
it  is  repeated  to  intensify  the  original  meaning, 
thus  saying  "  mucli  marked  with  small  pox. 麻 
跟 頭 ma?  ken'  t'ou',  ken'-t'ou'  is  a  tumble  ；  the  word 嘛 
ma-  is  referred  to  the  subject.  繊大錢 ma  "a'' 
ch'ien-,  so  is  called  a  cash  when  its  surface  Is  sugged, 
uneven,  as  if  there  were  marks  of  small  pox 
on  it.  繊燒 ffi  ma?  shao'  ping-',  a  wheaten  cake  with 
an  uneven  surface,  as  it  is  when  sesamum  seeds  are 
placed  on  it.    燒餅 shao'  ping'',  round  wheaten  cake. 

TRANSLATION 

The  boy  much  marked  with  the  small  pox  ― 
climbs  up  a  tree  ―  the  dog  barks  ―  and  people  go 
to  catch  him.  ―  The  small-pox  marked  is  so  scared 
that  he  tumbles.  ―  With  an  old  rugged  cash  he 
buys  a  cake  ―  a  small  pox  marked  eats  ―  and  a 
small  pox  marked  looks  on  ―  the  small  pox  marked 
come  to  a  fight  ―  and  a  small-pox  marked  advises 
peace  ―  small  pox  marked  policemen  一  take  the 
bamboo  stick  一  and  only  thrash  the  legs  of  the 
small  pox  marked  boy. 


一  14  一 


VIII 


NOTES 

火織 兒 huo"'  lien-'r,  a  piece  of  steel  used  to  strike 
sparks  from  a  flint.  甜 瓜 kua',  sweet  melon. 
豆 腐 tDu4-fu3,  bean  cheese,  largely  used  in  China 
茶樣 ft 蛋 ch'a?  chi"  tan^  eggs  boiled  in  tea.  雞 
i  # 兒 chii  tan4  k'o»>  the  shell  of  an  egg  ；  it  is 
generally  pronounced  k，o?，r. 


殼哥茱 奶香睛 

兒  殼哥買 奶燒服 

頭兒燒  蛋着來 着來子 

我 鐮兒瓜 腐爛蛋 雞坐出 坐出鼻 

跟火鐮 甜瓜豆 腐雞蛋 頭哥頭 奶了 

誰打 火賣敌 賣豆茶 雞裏哥 裏奶燒 


TRANSLATION 


Who  is  going  to  play  with  me  ？  ―  strike  the 
flint-steel  ―  the  flint  steel  takes  fire  ―  sell  sweet 
melons  一  the  sweet  melons  are  bitter  ―  sell  bean 
cheese  ―  the  bean  cheese  is  spoiled  ―  boil  eggs  in 
tea  ―  in  the  shell  of  the  egg,  of  the  egg  ~  there 
is  sitting  the  elder  brother  ―  the  elder  brother 
goes  out  to  buy  provisions  一  inside  there  sits  the 
grand-mother  ―  the  grand  mother  goes  out  to  burn 
incense  ―  ana  burns  her  nose  and  her  eyes. 

IX 

子 

NOTES 

These  words  are  often  repeated  by  the  pekinese 
mothers  to  their  babies  疼痕兒 ko'  ta'  ，r，  means 
here  a  little  thing  of  a  round  form  just  as  it  was  a 
round  metal  button.  開 胸 順氣九 k'ai'  hsiung"  shun'' 
ch'i*  uan-,  is  a  medical  pill  advised  by  Chinese  doctors 
to  people  who  feel  the  breast  oppressed  and  the 
respiration  uneasy.    The  literal  translation  of  its 


大 子痘氣 

一 個貝胸 

我 一  i 


― 1 0  ― 


name  is  "pill  which  opens  ( lightens )  the  breast 
and  makes  the  respiration  easy.  The  mothers  liken 
their  babies  to  that  pill,  and  really  every  mother 
holding  her  child  in  her  arms  must  feel  happy  and 
free  from  every  sorrow.  , 

TRANSLATION. 

.  I;  . 

This  one  great  son  of  mine  ！  ―  one  son  of 

mine  I  a  precious  little  thing  I  一  a  pill  who  lightens 

the  heart  and  makes  people  happy  I 


X 


兒 子 
人 精 

NOTES 

These  words  are  repeated  by  mothers  near  the 
cradles  of  their  sons  to  get  them  asleep.  The 
phrase 把 卜 了  pa''  pa-'  la,  is  rather  difficult  to  explain, 
because  the  Chinese  themselves  cannot  give  it  a 
meaning.  However,  after  many  enquiries  I  see 
that  people  are  generally  of  opinion  that  this 
phrase  has  the  meaning  of  being  drowsy,  being 


了了 了乖哄 

覺覺 卜個個 

睡困 把是是 

子兒 兒兒兒 

兒花花 花 花 

K 我 法我我 


一  I 


asleep.  乖兒子 kuai'  eur-  tzu,  an  obedient  boy, 
meaning  derived  from  the  above  mentioned  phrase 
乖乖 kuai' kaai'.  ''be  quiet  I 哄 人的精 hung:; 
jea-  ti  ehing'.  the  word  hung  '-  which  means  commonly 
to  deceive,  but  its  original  meaning  is  to  cajole,  to 
flatter,  to  charm.  The  word  ching'  means  essence, 
sep^en  ；  the  whole  phrase  could  be  translated  :  the 
ess^ce,  the  f^i^-er  of  those  who  charm  people. 

TRANSLATION 

My  flower  is  sleeping  ―  my  flower  has  fallen 
asleep  ―  my  flower  is  resting  ―  my  flower  is  a 
quiet  son  ―  my  flower  is  the  flower  pf  those  who 
charm  people. 


麫片 

家花了 家擀大 轉辦 

看梅 深我會 一 線團花 

你深沒 到兒杖 如團蓮 

狗邊花 兒婦麫 賽裏裏 

黄南梅 人媳擀 刀鍋碗 

狗到杂 雙家起 起在在 

黄我 一 雙我拿 拿搠盛 


"—18  — ■ 


NOTES 

This  song  although  very  childish,  yet  is 
founded  on  the  fact  that  Chinese  mothers-in-law  are 
often  unkind  and  sometimes  even  cruel  to  their 
daughters-in-law. 雙雙人 51  shnang'  shuang'  jen-'r, 
means  a  couple  of  persons,  not  four  persons. 
我 家 媳 婦 兒 ua'  chia'  hsi-  fa'''r,  "  the  wife  in  my 
house  "  probably  these   words  are  meant  to  be 


睡 

兒 

碗  眼那  烟 

半 碗碗碗 碗瞪在  搏鞭溜 

碗兩 一  51 了 上直兒  落溜 一 

1 兒藏舔 » 鋸兒婦 睡  一一兒 

婆姑下 來來來 婦媳裏  着着婦 


碗小底 過過過 媳兒坑 麼皮麽 皮麽錘 拿拿媳 

1 個板兒 兒子的 婦爐甚 羊甚狗 甚棒. 婆的 

. ^兩案 猫狗耗 嚇媳在 鋪鋪蓋 蓋枕枕 ^婆打 


一  19 


uttered  by  the  mother  in  law,  who  may  call  so 
her  son's  daughter.  撥 g  kan"^  mien;，  to  stretch  out 
dough  to  make  vermicelli. 構 杖 kan'  mien'*  changS 
a  roller  to  stretch  dough.  ~ • 大 片 i'  ta'*  p'ien's 
a  large  flat  piece  (of  dough)  ；  in  the  text  the 
verb  "she  stretches  out"  is  wanting. 赛 如線 sai* 
ju'i  hsien'*,  which  may  rival,  compete  with  thread  as  to 
thinness. 團 團 t'uan-  t'uan-  chuan'*,  conglomerated 
they  turn  round  in  the  pan.  ( said  of  the  vermicelli) 
蓮花辦 lien--hua' -pan's  ( as  they  were  )  petals  of  the 
lotus  blossom. 公 kung'  father-in-law,  here  kung'  is 
instead  of  ^  ^  kung"  kung' . 婆 p'uo).  mother  in  law, 
here  p'uo-  is  instead  of 婆 婆 p'uo-  p'uo-. 小 姑 兒 hsiao^ 
ku'，r，  her  husband's  younger  sisters. 案 板 an''  pan^, 
a  wood  board  on  which  dough  is  stretched  to  make 
vermicelli. 爐 坑 lu-  k'eng'  is  a  pit  under  the  stove 
where  the  ashes  fall  down  ；  an  imcommon  severe 
punishment  inflicted  by  mothers-in-law  to  their 
daughters-in-law  is  to  let  them  sleep  in  the 
stove-pit. 鋪甚麼 P，u'  she-  mmo，  what  have  you  for 
bedding  ？ 枕甚麼 chen'  she-  mmo,  what  have  you  for 
pillow  ？  Somebody  is  supposed  to  ask  now  from 
the  unfortunate  wife  about  her  condition. 棒鍾 
pang'  ch'ui- ,  a  beater  used  in  washing  clothes  ；  it  is 
generally  made  of 壤木 tsao^u'',  date  wood. ― 
落 石專 i'  luo4  chuan',  a  pile  of  bricks,  that  is  to  say,  as 
many  bricks  as  could  form  a  pile  of  them.  ~ - 溜 鞭 
i'  liou''  pien',  "a  row  of  whips "  rather  a  strange 
expression  for  many  whips,  lots  of  whips. ― 溜 姻 
i'  lioi"  yen',  as  a  stream  of  smoke  ；  the  verse  is  not 


一  20  一 


complete  because  its  whole  meaning  is :  they  beat 
the  wife  so  that  she  runs  away  as  quickly  as  a 
stream  of  smoke  ( a  cloud  of  smoke).  The  Chinese 
associate  the  idea  of  smoke  with  quickness  ；  very 
often  it  is  heard 他 走一溜 姻 兒似的 t，a'  tsou:''  i' 
liou^  yen''r  shih'-ti,  he  walks  as  quickly  as  a  stream  of 
smoke. 

TRANSLATION 

Yellow  dog,  yellow  dog,  look  after  the  house  ― 
I  go  towards  South  to  pluck  plum-blossoms  ―  I 
have  not  yet  plucked  a  single  plum-blossom  ―  and 
two  persons  arrive  at  the  house  ―  my  son's  wife 
knows  how  to  stretch  out  dough  ―  she  takes  the 
roller  and  stretches  a  large  slice  of  dough  ―  she 
takes  the  knife  and  cuts  vermicelli  as  thin  as 
hread ―  then  she  puts  them  in  the  cooking-pan, 
and  they  turn  conglomerated  about  一  afterwards 
she  puts  them  down  in  the  bowls  and  they  look 
like  petals  of  the  lotus  blossom.  ―  (  She  fills )  one 
bowl  for  her  father-in-law  一  one  bowl  for  her 
mother-in-law  ―  and  two  half-bo、vls  for  her  sisters- 
in-law  ― she  hides  one  bowl  under  the  dough- 
board  ― but  the  cat  comes  over  and  licks  the 
bowl  ―  the  dog  comes  over  and  has  broken  the 
bowl  ―  the  mice  come  over  and  gnaw  the  bowl 
― and  the  housewife  is  so  scared  that  she  stares 
vacantly  ―  "wife,  wife,  where  do  you  sleep?" ― 
"I  sleep  in  the  stove-pit  ―  what  have  you  for 


一  21  ― 


bedding  ？  ―  I  have  for  bedding  a  goat's  skin  ―  what 
have  you  for  coverlet  ？  ―  I  have  a  dog's  skin  ― 
what  have  you  for  pillow  ？  ―  I  have  a  linen-beater 
― the  father-in-law  takes  up  in  his  hands  as  many 
bricks  as  could  form  a  pile  ―  the  mother-in-law 
holds  up  in  her  hands  a  row  of  whips  ―  and  they 
beat  the  wife  so  that  she  runs  away  as  quickly  as 
a  stream  of  smoke. 


XII 

寒 ® 兒過 
十 個 

兒 更好吃 

NOTES 

寒稿兒 han'  ya'V  is  the  Corvus  monedula,  a 
white  breasted  crow  ；  a  large  number  of  them  comes 
to  Peking  from  the  North,  at  the  beginning  of 
winter,  and  their  first  apparition  is  greeted  by  the 
Pekinese  boys  with  these  verses  who  are  however 
too  gastronomic  to  be  sentimental.  The  flesh  of 
these  crows  is  eatable,  but  the  taste  for  it  is  not 
general.  一 遍 i'  pien's  at  one  time.  刹 puo'  is  read 
vulgarly  pao- . 


兒打 吃吃皮 

鴉遍 着着了 

寒 一 熬赏刹 


— '22 


TRANSLATION 

The  white  breasted  crows,  the  white  breads  ted 
crows  are  passing  ―  at  one  time  we  strike  ten  of 
them  ~  we  eat  them  boiled  in  gravy  ―  we  eat 
them  boiled  ―  but  they  are  even  better  to  eat 
when  the  skin  is  taken  off  them. 


XIII 


過 


强 


NOTES 

Of  all  the  popular  songs  that  are  in  this 
collection,  1  think  this  one  could  claim  any  artistic 
value.    It  is  very  simple,  subject  and  words,  but  the 


爹 娘整我  娘 

爹 後年： 親 

着 娶三弟  想 

兒 兒 跟 爹娘兄  啼 

茱黄 歲娘兒 爹後個 茱湯啼 

白裏 八了好 怕了了 吃泡哭 

小地 七離好 叉娶養 他我哭 


一  '2：\  ― 

child's  grief  is  movingly  depicted.  The  boy  liken^s 
himself  to  a  small  cabbage  which  gets  yellow  and 
dry  in  the  earth,  because  nobody  takes  care  of  it. 
The'comparison  is  not  poetical  for  us,  but  in  China 
there  is  nothing-  peculiarly  vulgar  attached  to  the 
word  cabbage.  過 kiio'  is  here  for 過日子 kuo^ 
jih''-tzu,  to  live,  to  get  on.  三年整 san'  nien^  cheng\ 
just  after  three  years.  }^ 溢 p'ao"  fang',  to  pour 
the  gravy  on  the  rice.  哭 哭 P 帝 P 帝 k'u'  k'u>  t，i?  t，F， 
weeping  and  wailinjr. 

TRANSLATION 

Like  the  small  cabbage  ―  which  has  become 
yellow  and  dry  on  the  ground  ~  at  the  age  of  seven 
or  eight  years,  I  have  lost  my  mother.  ―  I  lived  so 
well  near  my  father  ―  only  I  was  afraid  he  would 
take  another  wife  ―  and  he  has  taken  her  ；  just 
after  three  years  ―  they  have  given  me  a  brother 
who  is  more  worthy  than  I  am  ―  because  he  eats 
the  food  ―  and  1  only  may  pour  the  gravy  on  my 
rice  ―  weeping  and  wailing  I  think  of  my  own 
mother  I 


XIV 


張大嫂 

李 大 


一  2'i  ― 


NOTES 

大 嫂 ta'i  sao\  general  appellation  for  the  eldest 
brother's  wife  ；  married  women  call  each  other  ta''  sao" 
for  sake  of  ceremony.  豆 角 tou*  chiao:;,  bean  pods. 
據 liao<,  to  grasp,  to  pull,  here,  "  to  pull  away  "  *^ 
藤 k'ang'*  hsi-,  the  mat  wich  is  spread  on  the  k'ang. 
Somebody  could  be  curious  to  know  which  of  the 
two  ladies  ran  home,  but  the  song  does  not  satisfy 
the  curiosity. 

TRANSLATION 

Mistress  Chang  ―  and  Mistress  Li  ―  have 
gone  to  the  Southern  slope 一  to  gather  bean  pods ― 
( one  of  them )  felt  a  pain  in  her  bosom  ―  and  ran 
home  一  pulled  off  the  k'ang-mat  ―  spread  dry 


、  0 

賣 

子  店 iK 

兒 大頭 

坡 角疼跑 腈草個 保開饅 

南豆子 家^^  了 豆保賣 

上 摘肚往 撩鋪養 叫豆乂 


― m  一 


grass  on  the  k'ang  一  and  bore  a  child  whom  she 
called  Tou'  pao^  ―  Tou'-pao^  not  it  has  opened  a 
shop  ―  and  sells  bread  and  flower. 


辦花 

紅 齄走東 花藥花 花蓮愛 陶氣 熬子遙 

s^a 騎街海 盆芍丹 桃大的 陶婆 夫抱逍 

^  一 我 遶過家 五紅牡 是是無 家樂^ 丈不又 

來馬 馬龍我 着個個 的的姐 出兒受 受中淡 

出騎 騎靑有 種愛愛 愛愛五 要人不 不懷散 

頭傅傅 騎東家 姐姐姐 姐下心 家來 來來來 

日師 師我海 我大二 三四剩 一 出一  二三四 


NOTES 

藥 shao-  yao',  peony,  lat.  pcvouia 牡 丹 mu?'  tan' 


― 一 


the  tree  peony,  hit.  pa'onia  mutan.  蓮 花， lien-  hua', 
the  lotus  flower,  hit.  ^elumbiiim  speciosum.  無 的 
愛 11'  til  ai^  she  has  nothing  that  she  likes.  [ij 家 
c'j'u'  cilia',  "to  go  out  of  the  family"  means  to  enter 
the  monastic  life.  樂 陶 陶 b''  t'ao-  t'a。 -'，  joyfully, 
happily.  熬 ao',  to  boil,  to  decoct,  and  figurately  to 
vex,  to  disturb.  散 淡 san:  tan'-,  freely,  easily,  with 
no  coercions  遣 遙 hsiaa'  yao',  in  a  state  of  peace 
and  bliss. 

'  TRANSLATION 

The  sun  has  come  out  like  a  red  spot  ―  my 
teacher  rides  on  a  horse  and  I  ride  on  a  dragon  ― 
the  teacher  riding  on  the  horse  goes  along  the 
streets  ―  I  riding  on  the  dark  dragon  cross  over  to 
the  East  of  the  sea ―  at  the  East  of  the  sea  there  lives 
my  family  一  and  in  my  family  they  cultivate  five 
fllower-pots  ―  my  first  sister  likes  the  red  peony  ~ 
my  second  sister  likes  the  tree  peony  ―  my  third 
sister  likes  the  petals  of  the  peach  blossom  ―  my 
fourth  sister  likes  the  large  lotus  blossoms.  ―  There 
is  the  fifth  sister  who  has  nothing  she  may  like  ― 
and  does  not  think  of  other  but  of  becoming  a  nun 
― the  women  in  the  monastic  life  live  very  happily 
indeed  ―  firstly  they  do  not  suffer  the  vexations  of 
father-and  mother-in-law  -  secondly  they  do  not 
suffer  a  husband's  maltreatment  一  thirdly  they  do 
not  bear  children  ―  and  fourthly  they  live  freely 
and  in  a  condition  of  blissful  peace. 


― ― 
XVI 

了個 禿奶奶 52 
§3 竟發默 

NOTES 

别 燈 棍 兒 t'i  ten^'  kun''  ，r，  a  wire  to  pull  up  the 
wick  in  an  oil  lamp.  打 燈花兒 ta'  teng'  hua'  ，r，  to 
take  away  the  burned  part  of  the  wick.  ―  The  scene 
depicted  is  rather  a  comic  one  ；  a  man  has  married 
a  woman  whom  he  has  never  seen,  and  as  soon  as 
he  enters  the  nuptial  room,  he  snuffs  the  candle  to 
see  better  and  perceives  that  the  bride  is  a  very 
ugly  one.  爺 ?S  兒 ye  ye'  ，r,  means  in  vulgar 
Pekinese  a  man,  a  husband  as 奶奶兄 nai'  naP  ，r， 
means  a  woman,  a  wife.  Both  words  are  used  in 
different  meanings  in  family  relations  tedrhnology. 
SI 默 fa'  tail,  to  stare  vacantly. 

TRANSLATION 

With  the  oil-lamp  wire  ―  he  takes  away  the 
burned  wick  ―  the  man  perceives  he  has  got  for 


兒兒筹  爺 

棍 花 1： 儿 斜歪爺 

燈 燈爺一 乂又的 

剔打爺 眼嘴氣 


一  28  — 


himself  a  bald  wife  ―  she  is  squint  eyed  ―  and  has 
a  crooked  mouth  ―  the  husband  is  so  struck  with 
anger ―  that  he  stares  stupidity. 


XVII 


房 

了 

,  嚷地進  香香  地 

嚷椅走  兒兒 長掃香 

子 頭 鬧來娘 香 花瓣澳 地來花 

姐郧帳 枕被 子棠： g  簪花紅 落兒合 

的 的的床 的的禱 海的鏡 花玉桃 大拖花 百尖圓 

兒 兒的兒 兒 菊兒 花桂粉 唇仵裙 松起兒 

花 花花兒 花花花 秋人銀 頭官乐 一 羅 ffi 掃葉葉 

楷 莉 蓉花芝 藥球聲 美對油 * 檫黠 穿地了 花姑花 

石 1^ 芙 繡蘭： 叫虞 兩梳 臉嘴身 下叫松 荷 


一  一 


江 南 

NOTES  ' 

It  appears  this  song  has  no  other  aim  than  to 
put  together  the  greatest  number  of  flowers  and 
plants  names.  花 shih'  liu'  hua',  pomegranate 

flowers.  荣莉 花 mm''  li''  hu.i',  Arabian  jasmine  (lat. 
Jasminum  Samba'),  -j^ 转 花 fa'  jung-  hua',  the 
Hibiscus  mutabilis.  儘 花 hsiou*  hua',  flowers 
embroidered  by  hand.  蘭芝花 Ian-  chih'  hua",  and 
also  隨 花 Ian-  hua',  the  Cymbidium  ensifoliuni. 
'1^ 球 花 hsiou'i  ch'iu'  hua' ,  sort  of  geranium  ( lat. 
geranium  {(male).  |簡 嚷嚷 nao' jang' jang',  to  be 
noisy,  here  perhaps  to  be  in  confusion,  to  be  meddled 
together.  秋 菊 ch'iu'  chii-,  autumn  chrysanthemum. 
海 棠 hai:、'  fang-,  pyrus  spectabilis,  cultivated  for  its 
flowers  and  fruits.  虞美' 人 yii?  mei?  jea-',  papaver 
rhoeas,  a  double  variety  of  the  poppy.  ；!: 圭 花 kuai' 
hua',  the  Cassia  flower  ( lat.  Cinnamomiim  Cassia ). 
官 粉 kuan'  fen"',  sort  of  good  white  cosmetic  powder 
which  ladies  rub  on  their  cheeks  玉替花 yii*  tsan' 
hua',  Funkia  subcordata.  下 地 hsia''-ti''，  to  reach  the 
ground.  羅裙 luo?  ch,iin.-'，  a  long  petticoat,  made 
with  a  sort  of  silk  called 羅 luo-.  拖 落 t'uo'  lo''，  is 
said  of  the  dresses  when  they  are  too  long  and  the 
skirts  sweep  the  ground.    松 花 sung"  hua',  pine- 


丹里望 

牡 十嫂 

抱香嫂 

S 兒兒 

花花花 

開開開 

芝仙子 

靈水梔 


― 0  ― 


flower.  The  Chinese  use  to  throw  the  flowers  into 
the  stove  to  prevent  the  bad  smell  of  coal.  百 合 
花 pa3'-'no?-hua' read  also  pu3''-ho-hua',  the  lily  ( lat. 
Liliiim ).  ^ 姑 tz'u?  kill,  an  herb  with  arrowlike 
leaves  ( lat.  Sagiitaria  sagittifnlia).  荷花 In' hua', 
the  Lotus  blossom,  the  same  as 蓮 花 lien-  hua',  ( lat. 
Nelumbium  speciosiim).  靈 芝 ling-  chih',  the  plant 
of  long  life.  水 仙 s'luei-'  hsien",  the  narcissus.  栃 
子 chih'-tza,  the  gardenia 望江南 uang'  chiang'  nan-, 
means  literally  "  looking  towards  the  South  of  the 
river"  but  it  is  also  a  flower  name. 


TRANSLATION 


The  bride,  is  the  pomegranate  flower  ―  the 
bridegroom  is  the  jasmin  ―  the  curtains  are  covered 
with  flowers  of  the  Hibiscus  mutabilis  ―  the  bed  is 
covered  with  embroidered  flowers  ―  the  pillow  is 
covered  with  flowers  of  Cymbidium  ensifoHum  一 
and  the  coverlet  is  spread  with  peony  flowers  一  the 
mattress  is  strown  w  th  geraniums  flowers,  which  are 
in  disorder  ―  they  call  the  autumn  chrysanthemum 
and  the  flower  of  the  pyrus  spectabilis,  to  let  them 
sweep  the  floor  ―  here  miss  poppy  has  entered  the 
room  ―  there  are  two  mirrors  with  frames  inlaid 
with  silver  ―  and  she  combs  her  hair  as  perfumed 
as  the  Cassia  flower  ―  then  she  rubs  her  face  with 
white  cosmetic  powder,  with  the  smell  of  the  Funkia 
subcordata  ―  and  she  marks  a  red  spot  on  her 
lips,  as  scented  as  petals  of  the  peach  blossom  ― 


一一  :n  ― 


she  wears  a  big  red  overcoat  ―  and  a  petticoat  so 
long  that  it  sweeps  the  ground  ―  then  she  calls  the 
pine  flower  that  it  may  sweep  the  floor  一  the  pine 
flowers  beegins  to  sweep  the  floor  and  a  lily  odour  is 
smelt  ―  the  leaves  of  the  Sagittaria  sagittifoHa  arc 
pointed  ―  the  leaves  of  the  lotus  blossom  are  round 
― the  plant  of  immortality  opening  the  flowers 
embraces  the  tree  peony  ―  the  narcissus  opens  the 
flowers  and  the  odour  is  smelt  as  far  as  ten  li  ―  the 
gardenia  opens  the  flowers  and  the  sister-in-law 
looks  toward  South.  '• 


XVIII 


NOTES 

槐 樹 huai'2  shu'%  the  ash  tree  (lat.  fr  ax  in  us).  打 
着傘 ta:i  cho' san:、'，  keeping  the  umbrella  open.  光 
着脊梁 kuang'  cho'  chi:''  niang",  bare  from   head  to 


了來 

台 來 了  纂 

戲 部還來  着 

搭 娘娘就  挽 

下 姑姑着  梁 

槐底 的的說 驪傘脊 

樹樹 家家着 着着着 

槐槐 人我說 騎打光 


一  ：]2  ― 


waist.  挽着慕 uan3  cbo'  tsuan--,  with  the  back-hair 
combed  as  a  chignon. 

TRANSLATION 

Ash  trees,  ash  trees  一  under  the  ash  trees  they 
have  raised  a  stage  -—  everybody's  girls  are  come  ― 
only  mine  does  not  come  yet  ―  just  while  speaking, 
here  she  is  come  ―  riding  on  a  donkey  ―  with  an 
open  parasol  ―  and  with  her  hair  combed  into  a 
chignon. 


XIX 


戶兒  兒兒兒 

窗兒鏡 兒曲兒 猴兒天 

上檔照 底唱頭 耍圈鑽 

多飯  婆有婆 有婆有 婆有婆 

哥 兒了婆 老沒老 沒老沒 老沒老 

二飯 完老 的戶的 子的兒 的兒的 

小吃吃 打打窗 打鏡打 -曲 打猴打 


- 33  - 


NOTES 

There  is  not  much  coherence  in  the  words,  and 
the  fun  is  in  the  fact  that  many  verses  are  ended 
with  the  final 兒, which  produces  a  ridiculous  effect. 
二 哥 eur''  ko'，  the  second  brother  in  the  family  also 
simply  a  familiar  name.  老 婆 lao:;  p'uo-,  an  old 
woman,  a  wife.  The  accent  falls  generally  on  the 
老 lao?'  in  this  meaning  ；  but  if  said  lao"^  p*uo-  tzu^,  with 
the  accent  on  the  p'uo-,  then  it  means  "a  female 
servant 檔兒 tang"r,  small  wood  bars  placed 
horizontally  in  the  Chinese  window-sash.  耍猴兒 
shua'  hou-  'r,  "  to  (let)  play  the  monkey,  that  is  to 
exhibit  the  tricks  of  a  monkey  to  gain  the  life  "；  the 
other  metaphorical  meaning  is  "to  lark,  to  romp, 
to  be  impertinent".  圈 兒 ch'iuan'  ，r，  a  wooden  circle 
through  which  the  monkeys  are  let  jump. 

TRANSLATION  ' 

The  small  second  brother  ―  eats  too  much  一 
and  when  he  has  finished  eating  ―  he  beats  his  wife 
― and  the  wife  is  so  beaten  that  she  jumps  on  the 
window  ―  the  window  has  no  bars  一  and  the  wife 
is  so  beaten  that  she  looks  in  the  mirror  一  the 
mirror  has  no  bottom  ―  the  wife  is  beaten  so  that 
she  begins  to  sing  ―  the  song  has  no  end  一  the  wife 
is  so  beaten  that  she  "plays  with  the  monkey " 一 

3 


一  34  一 


the  monkey  has  no  circle  ― and  the  wife  is  so  beaten 
that  she  springs  up  to  the  sky. 


XX 


返 兒 放 

揚 
NOTES 

車 古繊棒 ku<  lu'  pang's  a  child  toy,  consisting  in 
a  short  wood  mace  with  a  handle.  The  wood  above 
the  handle  is  circularly  worked  as  to  give  the  idea  of 
wheels 賴 輔 ku'  lu''.  It  is  the  imitation  of  an 
ancient  Chinese  weapon.  大天亮 ta''  t'ien'  Hang'-, 
when  the  daylight  was  very  bright.  P« ^兒喊 兒 
tzu'  ，r  tzu'  'r,  imitates  the  sound  produced  by  the  lips 
of  a  person  who  is  sipping  broth.  There  was  no 
character  in  the  dictionary  for  it,  but  I  was  forced 
to  adopt  the  above  written  as  corresponding  to  the 
exact  sound  and  having  by  side  the  radical  口  . 


亮 沒上米 

兒  天子. 1  口暍 

板 大 孩鍋的 

棒棒 打唱到 個在兒 

轆轆 兒兒唱 了放嗞 

軲軲 爺奶唱 活放兒 

金 銀爺奶 一養 一 嗞 


TRANSLATION 


Gilt  wood  mace  ―  silvered  wood  mace  一  the 
husband  strikes  the  castanets  and  the  wife  sings  ― 
and  they  have  been  singing  till  broad  daylight ―  and 
she  has  born  a  child,  and  there  was  no  place  to  lay 
him  ―  and  they  have  laid  him  on  the  kitchen-stove 
― where  he  is  sipping  the  rice  gravy. 


XXI 


線頭  回 

紅  後  一 

掛門  又 

圓前在  拉 

轆門厚 袖風頭 刀尖天 雷賊曄 

扯軲家 線大鬼 後腰刀 大打咬 I？ 

祉扯 家紅鬼 一 門 掛腰項 天狗唏 


NOTES 


These  words  are  sung  by  children  as  they  give 
each  other  the  hand  and  turn  around  in  a  circle  :  no 
particulary  defined  meaning  is  attached  to  them, 
as  they  are  put  together  only  to  keep  measure 
with  the  steps,  ^jl; 鞭 圓 ku'  lu''  yiian-,  as  round  as 
a  wheel .  鬼 shuaF',  expresses  a  movement  peculiar 
to  the  Chinese,  that  of  letting  down  with  a  sudden 
jerk  of  the  arm,  the  long  sleeve  which  was  tucked 
up  the  wrist.  P§  tfe  hsi'  liu'  hua'  la',  words 
with  no  meaning. 


TRANSLATION 

Draw,  draw  ―  draw  the  circle  as  round  as  a 
wheel ―  at  every  house-door  is  hanging  a  red  thread 
― the  red  thread  is  thick  ―  drop  the  sleeve  ―  drop 
it  as  far  as  behind  the  door  ―  behing  the  door  ― 
is  hanging  the  swoard  一  the  swoard  is  cutting  ― 
and  is  so  long  that  it  touches  the  sky  ―  the  sky- 
thunders  一  the  dog  bites  the  thieves  一  hsiliuhuala 
once  more  ！ 


XXII 


大秀 子得病 
二 禿子慌 


"―^  37 


NOTES 

For  a  baldhead  is  meant  in  this  song  a  child, 
for  the  reason  explained  before.  墓 chiang'  fang', 
ginger  broth,  a  medicine  given  to  make  the  patient 
sweat.  乖 乖 kuai'  kuai',  dear,  treasure,  said  of 
children.  莉 廣子兒 hu?  lu'  tzti:''  ，r，  the  seeds  In  his 
gourd  (meaning  his  head),  出來 peng''  ch,u'  lai-'， 
to  spring  up  ；  said  of  things  which  being  thrown 
down,  by  force  of  elasticity,  spring  up. 

TRANSLATION 

The  first  baldhead  gets  sick  ―  the  second 
baldhead  is  scared  ―  the  third  baldhead  goes  to  call 
a  doctor  ―  the  fourth  baldhead  boils  a  ginger 
decoction 一  the  fifth  baldhead  bears  him  (the  sick 
one)  on  the  shoulders ―  the  sixth  baldhead  buries 


.  出 

迸 

來麽乖  兒 

進甚乖  子 

夫湯  连哭秀  蘆 

大薑  着他個  莉 

請 熬抬埋 哭問了 枱埋個 

子 子子子 子子死 兒那 

禿 禿秀禿 秀秀家 快快讓 

三 四五六 七八我 快怏刖 


一  38  — 


him  ―  the  seventh  baldhead  comes  in  ―  the  eight 
baldead  asks  "why  do  you  weep  "？  ―  In  my  family 
a  dear  baldhead  is  dead  ―  quickly  take  him  away  ― 
quickly  bury  him  ―  lest  the  seeds  should  spring 
out  of  his  gourd.  ' 


XXIII 


娃 

冬 被睡襖 澳子子 m 杈 兒兒娃 

1 花皮 子皮簪 圈頭喀 鎧縫銀 

過花羊 紬破金 竹高樹 銀牆個 

英 姐着着 着着着 着着着 着着着 

靑兒 姐蓋蓋 穿穿戴 戴騎騎 澄澄抱 

葉呀 跟姐妹 姐妹姐 妹姐妹 姐妹姐 

樹呀 我組妹 姐妹姐 妹姐妹 姐妹姐 


兒 

一乂 

麻哇 


個哇 

着來 

抱步 

妹 一 

妹走 


- 39  — 


NOTES 

呀呀 兒英 ya'  ya'  ，r  ying',  meaningless  refrain 
which  rhymes  with  the  preceding  verse.  花花被 
hua'  hua'  peiS  a  coverlet  embroidered  with  flowers. 
替子， tsani  tzu,  Chinese  hair-pin.  竹圈子 chu-  ch'iiian' 
tzu,  ear-rings  made  of  bamboo  ；  in  Peking  ear-rings 
are  generally  called  子 ch'ien'  tzu.  嘎 ； f 义 k，ai 
ch'a',  a  forked  branch 瘤 給 麻 lai*  ha-  ma',  a  scabby 
toad.  睡 兒 1^  ku' ，r  ku &'，  imitates  the  voice  of  a 
toad. 

TRANSLATION 

The  tree  leaves  are  dark  ―  I  spend  a  winter 
with  my  elder  sister  ― my  elder  sister  covers  her  bed 
with  a  coverlet  embroidered  with  flowers  ―  and  I 
the  younger  sister  cover  my  bed  with  a  goat  skin  一 
my  elder  sister  wears  a  satin  overcoat  一  I  the 
younger  sister  wear  a  broken  skin  overcoat  ―  my 
elder  sister  wears  golden  hair-pins  一  and  I  the 
younger  sister  wear  bamboo  ear-rings  ―  my  elder 
sister  rides  on  a  splendid  horse  ―  and  I  the  younger 
sister  ride  on  a  forked  branch  一  my  elder  sister 
leans  her  feet  on  silver  stirrups  ―  and  I  the  younger 
sister  lean  my  feet  on  the  wall  crevices  ―  my  elder 
sister  holds  in  her  arms  a  silver  baby  ―  and  I  the 
younger  sister  hold  in  my  arms  a  scabby  toad  ― 
which  moves  a  step  and  then  cries  kurkua  kurkua. 


XXIV 


NOTES 

立 秋 li''  ch'iu',  the  beginning  of  winter,  fjg 
chao'',  illumines.  人 烟 靜, jen'  yen'  ching'',  men  and 
smoke  (houses)  are  resting  ；  everything-  is  quiet. 
押 虎 子 ya'  huUzii,  Peking  street  watchmen,  kept 
by  the  Government  to  tell  the  hour  by  striking  on  a 
bamboo  rattle.  ^ 壽 tsou^  ch'ou-,  to  take  round  by 
night  time  a  bamboo  tally  from  one  watch-post  to 
another.  一 根燈草 i'  ken'  teng'  ts'ao',  a  lamp  wick 
made  of  the  stalk  of  the  Juncus  communis  (rushes). 
怎奈 tsea^-nai's  there  is  no  remedy,  no  way.  猴兒頭 
•hou-  ，r  t'ou-,  a  monkey's  head,  slang  Pekinese  term  to 
mean  money.  Several  words  are  used  in  the  same 
meaning  as  for  instance 大車 iS 纖 ta'*  ku>  lu''，  the  big 
wheel.  官 板 kuan'  pan",  official  stamp,  stamped  by 
the  Government.    Several  terms  cannot  be  written 


禱  頭 

樓  连  油蠟兒 

高  子亮 了油猴 

秋照 靜虎不 費羊有 

了兒 姻押他 怕枝沒 

丄 =i 月人 個嫌 叉 一 中 

來五 聲雨草 草買手 

秋十 無了燈 燈要我 

了月 赛見根 根心奈 

立 八鴨瞧 I 雨有怎 


— 41  — 


at  all,  wanting  a  character  for  them,  not  with 
standing  I  、vill  venture  to  write  them  down  with 
homophonous  characters.  So  for  instance  read 
ka〜 Ex. 我的 這個搭 連兒就 剩了叫 嘆丫 
uo^  ti'  che''-ko''  ta'-lien-  ，r  ciou'  sheng''  la  chiao''  huan*  ka-  la, 
there  is  noting  left  in  my  purse  but  noisy  cash" 
meaning  that  the  purse  only  contains  two  or  three 
cash  which  at  every  step  meet  and  ring.  It  is  also 
said 古 Pg  ku:''  ka-.  Ex.  古 沒有 ku^  ka'  niei-  ioii、'， 
I  have  no  cash.  Another  term  is 侧 ts'o?,  or 側 羅 
tsV  lo-.  Foreign  words  are  sometimes  used  as 
chi'-ha',  the  Chinese  transformation  of  the  Manchu 
word  jiha  "  money  •'  and  chao'  su'，  said  to  be  Mongol 
and  generally  used,  peculiarly  in  the  whole  phrase 
chaoi  sa'  u''  kuei',  which  is  meant  for  "I  have  no 
money  "  and  is  all  in  Mongol. 

TRANSLATION 

The  autumn  has  set  in,  the  autumn  has  set 
in  ―  on  the  fifteenth  of  the  eighth  month  the  moon 
illumines  the  high  palaces  ―  crows  and  other  birds 
are  silent  and  men  and  houses  are  resting  ―  I  have 
seen  two  watchmen  who  went  round  taking  the 
watch-tally  一 here,  with  only  one  wick  in  the  lamp, 
I  am  sorry  it  is  dark  一  but  I  am  afraid  to  consume 
too  much  oil  burning  two  wicks  ―  I  intend  buying 
a  candle  of  mutton-tallow  ―  but,  alas  I  I  have  not  a 
single  cash  in  the  hands. 


一  42  一 


XXV 


NOTES 

Chinese  children  are  given  by  their  parents  a 
奶名 nai',' ming ；'，  "milk-name"  by  which  they  are 
designated  in  the  family.  These  milk  names  are 
numberless.  A  common  habit  in  the  family  is  to 
give  the  new  born  children  only  a  number  for  milk 
name,  by  which  number  the  child  is  called  four  or 
Jive,  if  it  is  the  fourth  or  fifth  son  in  the  family.  The 
common  forms  for  these  arithmetical  names  are 


兒 》4 親娘 


0 

稍了戲 

高樹軟 翻氣出 

.  上柳兒 兒淘唱 

糖兒愛 到枝五 直子戲 

兒兒 水豆兒 爬稍小 兒翳了 湯凉小 

五六 塊包五 爬樹的 六上完 熱不的 

小小一  一小一 柳摔 小戴唱 唱湯變 


— 43  — 


such  ：  A  first  born  may  be  called  ~ - 子 i'-tzu,  ( the 
form  is  not  much  used  ；  the  accent  falls  on  the  i' ). 
The  second  son  may  be  called  二 哥 eur'*  ko'，  or 
小 ~ "兒 hsiao3  i' ，r.  The  third  son  may  be  called 
三 兒 san'  ，r，  the  fourth 四 兒 ssu^  ，"，  the  fifth 五 兒 
，r，  the  sixth 六 兒 liou''  ，r，  and  so  forth  as  far  as 
ten.  These  milk  names  are  also  given  to  children 
independently  of  their  order  in  the  family  and 
become  like  our  christian  names  Charles,  John  and 
so  forth.  水 糖 ping"  fang-,  white  sugar  in  pieces 
sold  on  the  streets  to  children.  ^ 包豆兒 i'  pao' 
tou'*  'r,  a  parcel  of  roasted  beans,  another  delicacy 
for  children.  翻 目氏 fan'  yen^,  to  turn  up  the  eyes, 
like  a  man  who  loses  his  senses  and  shows  the 
white  of  his  eyes.  満 氣 t'ao--ch'i'%  impertinent, 
saucy.  戴上 翁子 tai'  shang'  hu-  tzti,  to  put  on  a 
false  beard  as  actors  do  In  theaters. 


TRANSLATION 

The  small  Five  ―  and  the  small  Six  ―  with  a 
piece  of  white  sugar  ―  and  a  parcel  of  beans  ― 
the  small  Five  likes  to  go  high  up  ―  and  he  climbs 
up  to  the  tip  of  the  branch  of  the  willow  tree  一  the 
tip  of  the  willow  branch  is  weak  ―  and  the  small 
Five  tumbles  down  and  hurts  himself  so  that  he 
shows  the  white  of  his  eyes.  一  The  small  Six  is 
really  impertinent  ―  he  puts  on  a  false  beard  and 
sings  an  act  of  an  opera  ―  when  he  has  finished 
singing  the  opera,  一  he  drinks  hot  broth  一  the 


一  44  — 


broth  is  not  cool  ~ ■  and  the  small  Six  scalds  himself 
so  that  he  calls  for  his  mother. 


XXVI 


婦 兒 

ffi 麽 


小 m 兒 

NOTES 

門 淳々 兒 men?  tan'  ，r，  a  big  stone-seat  placed  by 
the  side  of  a  street  door.  P 咸 着 han'  cho,  crying 
loudly. 

TRANSLATION 

The  small  boy  ―  is  sitting  outside  the  door 
on  the  stone-seat  ―  and  weeping  and  wailing  he 
wants  to  have  a  wife  ―  when  he  has  got  a  wife 
what  will  he  do  with  her  ？  ―  when  the  lamp  is 
lighted  he  will  have  a  chat  with  her  ―  when  then 
the  lamp  is  out  he  will  keep  company  wich  her  ― 


媳作 OK 兒梳 

要兒 話伴來 

兒 兒着婦 說作起 

子 礅喊媳 燈燈個 

小 門 着了 上了兒 

小 坐哭要 黠吹明 


— 45  — 

乂  ， 

and  the  next  morning  after  getting  up  she  will 
comb  his  small  pigtail. 


XXVII 

兒 

擦 

巴 

NOTES 

柱 cha',  to  lean  on  a  stick.  拐棍 兒 kuai;  kun''  ，r， 
a  stick  used  by  old  men  to  lean  on.  就地！ j^J  chiou'* 
ti''  'r,  bent  to  the  ground  (walking)  as  very  old  men 
do.  擦 ts，a'，to  walk  painfully  dragging  (  rubbing) 
the  feet  on  the  ground.  避 鼠的猫 pi*  shu'  ti'-mao', 
a  cat  which  shuns  ( does  not  catch )  mice.  Q 猫 
li-  mao',  the  wild  cat. 

TRANSLATION 


棍 兒腿尾 

家塌 柺地條 M 

.1 問 柱就三 短 

有九來 來兒猫 

上子 出出狗 ® 

山 房 子 子的的 

高 問頭 i< 家 鼠 

高十老 老肴避 


On  a  very  high  mountain  there  lives  a  family  ― 
of  the  ten  rooms  in  the  building  nine  rooms  are  in 
ruin  ―  the  old  man  goes  out  leaning  on  a  stick  ― 


— 4G  - 


and  the  old  wife  walks  painfully  and  bent  to  the 
ground.  ―  the  dog  which  watches  the  house  has 
only  three  legs  一  the  wild  cat  which  does  not  catch 
the  mice  is  without  a  tail. 


XXVIII 

子 

兒 

叭花 兒 

是 好漢兒 
的是龜 蓋兒^ 

NOTES 

These  words  are  sung  by  Pekinese  boys  who 
want  to  imitate  the  ambulant  grocer,  and  tell  aloud 
the  names  of  their  wares.  香 富 子 hsiangi  hao'  tzu, 
the  Artemisia  annua-the  Chinese  make  with  its  dry- 
stalks  a  sort  of  vegetable  rope  which  they  burn  to 
keep  away  mosquitoes.  刺 朿！) 耀 兒 la'  la"  kuan''  ，r，  a 
wild  grass  which  grows  at  the  beginning  of  spring. 
苦費 SSor 苦系 k，u:Us，ai''，  the  sowthistle  (lat.  Lonchus 
ar  pens  is).  香 采 hsiang'  ts'ai's  '■'■odorous  herbs"  (lat. 
Coriaiidrum  sativum )  the  Chinese  use  its  leaves  for 


蒿 罐兒兒 tr 兒的人 

香剌 麻茱叭 雀我別 

香 剌苦香 喇翠買 買 


一  4  7  一 


parsley.  卩刺 ||/^ 花 la:''  pa'  hua',  "  trumpet  flowers  •， 
is  the  white  stramony  ( lat.  Datura  alba ).  翠雀兒 
ts'uei'i  ch'iao"  ，r，  the  larkspur  (lat.  Delfiniiim  authris- 
cifolium ).  龜蓋兒 kuei'  kai''  ，r，  a  mild  form  of  the 
common  Chinese  insult  "turtle-shell,'. 

TRANSLATION 

Here  is  Artemisia  annua  ―  here  is  lalaqua'r 
grass  ―  here  are  sowthistle  and  parsley  ―  white 
stramony  flowers  ―  and  larkspur  ―  who  buys  my 
ware  is  a  good  fellow ―  and  who  buys  other  people  s 
is  a  "  turtle-shell 


XXIX 


人兒 
八 蛋 兒 

NOTES 

Chinese  boys  are  till  a  certain  age  as  busy  in 
the  manufacture  of  mud-pies  as  any  other  boy  in 
foreign  countries.  They  buy  for  a  few  cash  ready- 
made  moulds  out  of  which  they  work  pagodas, 


讓漢王 

醇兒 不好個 

薛人 酒個是 

泥泥 暍是的 

泥泥 兒的我 

泥泥 頭我買 

泥 泥老買 不 


— 48  — 

small  fishes,  turtles,  and  so  forth.  When  the  wares 
are  ready  and  dry,  the  small  merchants  sing  these 
verses  as  if  they  meant  to  sell  the  products  of  their 
work.  泥 縛 薛 ni'  puo'  puo',  is  the  exact  equivalent 
of  the  english  "  mud-pie  "- 

TRANSLATION 

Here  are  mud  pies  ―  here  are  mud  figures  ― 
the  old  man  drinks  wine  and  does  not  offer  to 
others  ―  who  buys  my  ware  is  a  good  fellow  ―  and 
who  does  not  buy  mine  is  a  turtle's  egg. 


XXX 

牛 兒 

後出頭 

燒肝 兒燒羊 肉 

NOTES 

In  all  countries  children  have  verses  to  address 
snails,  and  in  China  too,  although  the  meaning  of 
the  verses  is  not  to  be  looked  for.  水 牛 兒 shuei:) 
niu'  ，r，  the  snail. 

TRANSLATION 
Snail,  snail  一  you  first  show  out  your  horns  and 


水 角媽下 

兒 觭你買 

牛 出爹你 

水 先你給 


一  49  一 


then  your  head  ―  your  father  and  mother  ―  will 
buy  for  you  some  roasted  liver  and  roasted  mutton. 


XXXI 


^  哼、  哎.  ^ 

6<  i5  呀  的哼 ，  哎 

哼  ％^  兒 兒不  哼 

兒不  兒哼糕 呀 塊汁兒 辣來暮 兒呀 

麫 段條來 肉六腿 不梨熬 脆個豆 §1 辣兒白 五塊兒 

吃老 細兒吃 老後來 吃糖眞 一 喝. 老的茱 吃老大 * 

要找 兒棍要 找兒瘦 要水呀 的要找 兒瓜要 找兒的 

你條 子兒你 1® 肥 兒得酥 大兒得 酸黄兒 你穰子 

妞 給寛簾 紐給腰 眞紐還 眞 好妞還 酸酸組 給黄栗 


NOTES 


^ 兒 niu<  ，r，  girl,  familiar  term  for 姑 娘 ku' 
niang?.  吃 ^  ch'ih'  mien^  to  eat  vermicelli.  ^  mien'* 
is  here  for 想條兒 mien;  t'iao-  ，r， 老 段 Lao^  t 囊、 the 
old  man  named  Tuan,  probably  a  shop-keeper.  寬 
條 兒 k'uan'  t'iao2  ，r，  flat  and  large  vermicelli.  細 
5J  hsi''  t，iao、'  ，r,  finer  vermicelli.  簾 子棍兒 lien^-tzu* 
kun''  ，r，  another  sort  of  vermicelli  so  called  because 
of  its  resemblance  to  the  bamboo  sticks  which  are 
bound  together  to  form  a  summer  curtain.  來不 P 亨 
PjJ  5^  lai-  pu  eng  a-yo,  meaningless  refrain.  腰竊兒 
iaoi  uo，  ，r，  "  the  loins  nest"  the  best  part  of  the 
loins  of  a  mutton  or  a  beef.  後腿 52>  hou''  t'ueP  ，r， 
the  back  part  of  the  thigh.  眞肥瘦 chen<  fei'  shou's 
" really  there  are  both  fat  and  lean",  that  is  very 
good  meat-a  buyer  going  to  the  butcher's  shop,  if 
not  particularly  wishing  to  get  more  fat  or  more 
lean,  calls  the  meat  he  wants  巴 瘦 fei-  shou''  that  is 
fat  and  lean  together.  So  the  phrase 你 鈴我 ~ - 
斤 巴瘦 §2  ni'  kei'uo-'i'  chin'  fei-  shou''  ，r，  means  "  give 
me  a  pound  of  good  meat',.  梨 ^  li-  kao*,  pear  jam 
dried  in  slices.  穌 su'，  is  said  of  the  food  and 
particularly  of  pastry,  when  it  is  so  delicate  that  it 
melts  in  the  mouth-french  "fondant".  脆 ts'uei'', 
crisp.  豆 汁 兒 tou;  chih'  ，r，  a  decoction  of  seeds 
which  is  drunk  in  spring  time  and  is  thought  a 
powerful  agent  to  cool  one's  blood  :  it  is  mostly  used 
by  Bannermen.    老西兒 lao'  hsi'  ，r，  nickname  given 


- 51  — 


by  the  Pekinese  to  the  natives  of  the  Shan-hsi 
province,  who  do  not  enjoy  a  very  good  reputation, 
even  among  Pekinese.  Here  they  are  quoted 
because  they  are  generally  fond  of  sour  food  as 
the  tou'«-chih'  is.  黄瓜茶 huang-  kua'  ts，ai''，  salted 
cucumber.  由 著 pae-  shu^,  the  sweet  potatoes.  獲 
兒 jang?  ，r，  the  pulp  of  a  fruit,  the  stuff  of  a  pudding, 
generally  the  interior  of  objects,  from  a  cake  to  a 
clock. 

TRANSLATION  - 


Young  lady,  if  you  want  to  eat  vermicelli,  ―  we 
will  go  to  see  the  old  Tuan  for  you,  ―  who  has  flat 
vermicelli,  and  thin  vermicelli  ―  and  "curtain- 
sticks ''  vermicelli  ―  Young  lady,  if  you  want  to  eat 
meat  ―  we  will  go  to  the  old  Six's  for  you  ―  he 
has  got  good  loin  of  mutton  and  good  haunch  of 
mutton  ―  both  fat  and  lean  meat  ―  Young  lady,  if 
you  want  to  eat  pear-jam  ―  we  must  also  boil  it  in 
white  sugar  ―  it  is  really  melting  in  the  mouth  and 
so  crisp  I  ―  and  what  a  big  slice  of  it  ！  ―  Young 
lady,  if  you  want  to  drink  bean  decoction  ―  then 
we  must  go  to  the  old  Shan-hsi  man's  ―  how  sour  it 
is  ！  how  bitter  it  is  ！  ―  and  how  sour  the  salt 
cucumbers  taken  with  it  ―  Young  lady,  if  you  want 
to  eat  sweet  potatoes  ―  we  will  go  to  the  old 
Five's  ―  who  has  there  large  slices  of  sweet  potato 
pulp  ―  which  smell  like  chestnuts. 


XXXII 


專 倆錢兒 


閙 着 頭 a 

NOTES 

These  verses  are  supposed  to  be  uttered  by  a 
beggar  who  complains  of  his  bad  luck  on  a  winter's 
day.  The  song  is  rhymed  by  adding  the  character 
兒 eur-  at  the  end  of  each  verse.  抱着肩 兒 pao'' 
cho-  chien*  ，r，  lit.  "embracing  one's  shoulder"  that 
is  to  keep  the  arms  folded  on  the  breast,  as  Chinese 
beggars  do  when  they  feel  cold.  爐]^ 兒 lu-  t'ai-  ，r， 
a  small  stove  made  of  bricks.  尋 hsin-)，  means  to  ask 
something  from  somebody,  to  look  for,  the  ordinary 
sound  of  the  character  is  hsiin.  老天爺 lao"^  t'ien' 
ye' ？，  the  old  gentleman  in  the  sky.  Has  no  relation 
whatever  with  our  religious  beliefs.  ―  the  expression 


兒兒兒 兒兒友 兒  人 

門 天肩館 台朋館 花爺篛 

了 了着茶 爐個茶 雪天和 

出 陰抱進 靠找出 飛老竟 


一  J)3  一 

is  a  very  common  one  but  the  same  Chinese  are 
the  first  to  be  puzzled  when  asked  for  the  meaning. 
It  is  a  personification  of  the  providence,  luck, 
justice,  and  also  weather,  and  is  as  undefined  a 
word  as  many  others  in  Chinese.  雪花兒 hsuS^ 
hua'  ，r,  lit.  snow-flowers,  snow-flakes.  鬧着頭 
兒 nao''  cho-  uan^  ，r，  to  play  with,  to  make  sport  with. 

TRANSLATION- 

As  soon  I  have  gone  out  一  the  weather  has 
become  cloudy  ―  folding  my  arms  on  my  breast  ― 
I  enter  a  tea-shop  ―  I  lean  against  the  brick  stove 
―" - and  look  for  a  friend  from  whom  I  may  beg  some 
money  ―  as  I  go  out  of  the  tea-shop  ―  here  snow- 
flakes  are  falling  ―  the  old  gentleman  in  the  sky  ― 
only  likes  to  make  sport  with  us  poor  people. 


XXIII 


家頭熟 

親梳子 

作會麥 

娘個 1；! 油架溜 

搭連 姑了成 成了据 

兒褡 的梳磨 磨上打 

建和 家梳子 藤瓜子 

褡我親 一 麥 芝黄茄 


NOTES 


The  beginning  of  the  song  does  not  seem  to 
have  any  comprehensible  meaning  and  I  can  only 
translate  it  literally.  搭連兒 ta'  lien?  ，r，  cloth  purse 
in  which  the  Chinese  keep  their  banknotes,  called 
also 錢 搭連兒 ch'ien-  ta"  lien'  ，r，  money  purse. 
Another  sort  is  styled 樓鄉搭 連!^ ping>  lang?  ta' 
lien?  'r,  and  is  used  for  holding  betel  nuts,  as  the 
name  shows.  作親家 tsuo'' ch，in，  chia'，  to  become  a 
relative.  The  word  ch'in'  chia'  means  all  relations 
who  bear  a  different  family  name.  The  word  is  in 
modern  Pekinese  wrongly  pronounced  ch'ing^  chia'. 
梳了個 麥子熟 shui  la<  ko''  mai''  tzti  shou->，  she  has  taken 
as  much  time  to  comb  her  hair,  as  would  be  required 
for  the  wheat  to  become  ripe  in  the  fields.  上了架 
"has  grown  on  the  bower".  Cucumber  plants  are 
made  creep  on  small  bowers.  打 提 溜 ta^  ti'  liu", 
to  swing,  pushed  by  the  wind. 

TRANSLATION 

The  purse,  the  purse  ―  I  have  become  a  relation 
of  the  purse  ―  the  purse  family's  girl  knows  how 
to  dress  her  hair  ―  and  has  taken  as  much  time  to 
comb  it  as  is  required  for  the  wheat  to  get  ripe  ― 
for  the  wheat  to  be  ground  and  made  into  flour 
― for  the  sesamum  to  be  ground  and  made  into 
ail  ―  for  the  cucumber  to  grow  on  the  bowers  ― 
and  for  the  brinjal  fruit  to  be  swung  by  the  wind. 


XXXIV 


NOTES 

This  stanza  is  composed  in  praise  of  the  fine 
scenery  in  the  Emperor's  Summer  palace  grounds, 
where  the  hun. hbacked  bridge  is  also  to  be  seen. 
~^ ^磁兒 i'  teng''  ，r，  a  step  in  a  staircase,  in  a  flight 
of  stairs.  蘭 草 cha'  ts'ao^  grass  wich  grows  near 
the  gatelocks,  called  also 燈 籠兒草 teng"  lang2  ，r 
ts，ao3，  "lantern  grass"  from  its  leaves  being  strung 
to  a  stalk  like  so  many  Chinese  lanterns  to  a  rope. 
金魚兒 chin'  yu^  ，r，  " 'goldfish".  水皮兒 shuei3  p'i2 ，r， 
the  surface  of  the  water,  lit.  "the  water  skin". 
銀魚兒 yin-  yii-  ，r,  "silverfish". 

TRANSLATION 

On  the  hunchback  bridge  一  one  step  is  higher 
than  the  other  ―  under  the  bridge  the  leaves  of  the 
lantern  grass  float  on  the  water  ―  the  goldfish 


高漂兒 

兒兒尾  叫 

澄皮魚  的 

一 水 銀嫫呱 

草 着蟝兒 

橘到 閛 咬的哇 

子兒兒 兒子呱 

鍋磴鼇 魚肚兒 

羅一燈 金大哇 


― 56  一 


run  after  the  silverfisli  and  bite  their  tails  ―  and 
the  toads  with  big  bellies  ―  cry  kurkua  kurkua. 


XXXV 


兒 

兒 的 腿 兒 

NOTES 

東嶽 tung'  yii、  one  of  the  five  sacred  mountains, 
thd 泰山 t，ai'' shan',  in  the  Shantung  province.  塾 
兒 tun'  ，r，  a  small  earth  moud.  Each  verse  ends  with 
the  character 兒 eur ？，  which  gives  fun  to  the  song. 

TRANSLATION 

In  the  temple  of  mount  T'ai-shan  一  under  the 
east  verandah  ―  under  the  east  verandah  there 
is  an  earth  mound  ―  on  which  squats  a  turtle  with 
golden  eyes  and  a  shell  covered  with  green  moss 
一  from  the  south  has  come  a  devil  ―  bearing  on  his 


兒毛兒 棍龜 

螯 緑鬼兒 根毛 

個眼個 水撿綠 

有金了 担兒眼 

廟下 下個來 一 水金 

嶽 廊廊着 南着下 打 

威東東 轉 解 挑 掘 單 


一  57  ― 


shoulders  a  load  of  water  一  he  lays  down  the  water, 
picks  up  a  stick  ―  and  only  strikes  the  legs  of  the 
turtle  with  golden  eyes  and  the  shell  covered  with 
moss. 


XXXVI 

來 

會 

NOTES 

大娘子 tai  niang-  tzu,  is  the  wife  of  the  first 
brother  in  the  family.  二娘子 eur;  niang-  tzu,  is  the 
wife  of  the  second  brother  and  so  forth.  歸 酒 shai' 
chioa-',  to  warm  the  wine  before  drinking  it.  棒 
p'eng^,  to  keep  on  one's  hands,  to  present,  to  offer. 
小 茶 兒 hsiao3  ts'aii  ，r,  salted  vegetables  with  which 
the  Chinese  relish  their  food.  端 采 tuaa>  ts'ai^  to 
bring  the  food  on  the  table. ― 傍 i  p'ang-,  by  the 
side,  aside.  團圓會 t'uan-  yiian-  huei's  general  feast 
in  which  all  the  members  of  the  family  collect  to 
dine  together.    This  day  falls  on  the  fifteenth  of  the 


兒 茱安圓 

碟 端兒團 

茱去 座個懷 

酒  過回 傍家樂 

喝 棒來 一 大令 

子 子子子 子是行 

娘 婊娘娘 娘說丰 

大二二 四 五他滑 


—  lis  — 


eighth  month,  because  in  that  night  the  moon  is 
perfectly  full 團 圓 t'uan-  yuan-.  棒 举 hua-  ch'iiian'-, 
to  play  at  guessfingers,  at  morra.  行 令 hsing-  ling'', 
literary  amusement.  Somebody  in  the  company 
begins  by  giving  a  verse  or  a  classical  phrase,  and 
the  other  members  of  society  must  follow  by 
inventing  another  verse  or  phrase  with  the  same 
rhyme,  or  with  the  same  parallelism  of  words,  or 
the  same  style  of  allusions.  The  man  who  first 
exhausts  his 乂 tock  of  phrases  is  punished  by  being 
forced  to  drink  a  number  of  glasses  of  wine. 

TRANSLATION 

The  first  lady  drinks  w  ne  ―  the  second  lady 
warms  the  wine  一  the  third  ladies  come  bringing 
in  small  saucers  with  salted  cucumbers  ―  the  fourth 
lady  at  the  side  arranges  the  places  ( covers )  ―  she 
says  that  every  body  has  come  for  a  complete 
meeting  ―  to  play  at  guessfingers,  to  play  at 
allusions  game,  and  to  be  merry. 


XXXVII 

秀子禿        箍 出油來 

上腦箍  煎豆腐 


NOTES 

These  words  arc  sung  to  tease  the  boys,  who 


— oO  — 


have  their  hair  shaven.  ku',  a  &oop，  an  iron 
belt  put  about  barrels.  ^% 繃 nao^  ku',  is  the  name 
of  an  old  instrument  of  torture  consisting  of  a  red 
hot  circle  of  iron  which  was  put  on  the  head. 

TRANSLATION 

You  baldhead  ―  we  will  ^ut  a  red  hot  >vhoop 
round  your  head  ―  and  with  the  oil  we  will  press 
out  of  it  ―  we  will  fry  bean-cake. 


xxxvin 


NOTES 

The  beginnig-  of  this  song  is  identical  with  that 
of  song  N°  33.  診狐 chen'' muo''，  to  feel  the  pulse 
as  Chinese  doctors  do.  藥方 iao>  fang  medical 
prescription  written  and  signed  by  the  physician. 


家 沉診藥  斤 

親 兒胍把  半 

作病 把兒膽 要 

兒娘 夫方子 兒 

搭連姑 大藥蚊 髀 

兒搭 的個個 是心翅 

連和 家了了 的备蠅 

_ ^我親 請開 開屹蒼 


— 60  — 

歧子 uen?  tzu,  the  mosquito.  蛇蚤 ko;  tsao',  the  flea. 
蒼 繩 ts'ang'  ying',  the  fly. 

TRANSLATION 

The  purse,  the  purse  ―  I  am  now  a  relation 
of  the  purse  family  一  but  their  daughter  has 
grown  dangerously  sick  ―  and  they  have  called  a 
physician  who  has  felt  her  pulse  ―  and  then,  has 
written  a  prescription,  and  people  have  gone  to 
buy  the  medicines  ―  on  the  prescription  there  is 
written  :  mosquito's  livers,  flea's  hearts  and  half  a 
pound  of  flies  wings. 


XXXIX 


鞋兒 

子  兒兒臉 

婶 兒玉 花臉期 

兒縐 兒執香 莉雙明 

撒洋 溻糞腕 茉的子 

兒甚靑 汗牛着 着兒襪 

三是是 纖個戴 戴底的 

兒的的 洋着邊 邊分白 

三穿 靑梳左 右五漂 


NOTES 

These  words  are  addressed  to  a  young  girl,  as 


― 61 


may  be  seen  from  the  description  of  her  dress, 
which  follows.  The  slang  word  sa?  ，r，  not  generally 
known  even  among  Pekinese,  means  dress,  fashion, 
toilette.  As  no  written  character  exists  to  represent 
this  sound  and  this  meaning,  I  have  used  for  it 
the  character  sa 撒 which  being  originally  in  the 
first  tone,  here  ought  to  be  read  in  the  second. 
Wanting  to  find  a  character  for  the  word,  it  could 
be  formed  this  combination 徵 to  be  read  sa-  'r. ― 
One  of  the  phrases  commonly  heard  is  this 你有撮 
兒沒撒 51  iou-'  sa-  ，r，  meP  sa?  ，r  ?  —  meaning  ' '  have 
you  got  a  good  dress  or  not :  洋 纖 yang-  chou', 
crape  imported  by  foreigners.  汗榻兒 ban;  fa'  ，r， 
sort  of  cloth  under-dress  or  shirt  worn  by  Chinese 
in  contact  with  the  skin.  European  shirts  are 
mostly  styled 汗 衫 han''  sban'.  牛 囊 niu-  fen'*  "  ox- 
dung",  name  for  a  sort  of  head  dress,  more  decently 
called  圓 頭 yiian-  t'ou-  "round  head".  輒 p'ai\ 
character  not  noted  in  the  dictionaries  but  mentioned 
by  Sir  T.  Wade  in  his  Tone  exercises.  It  means 
"to  let  onself  down,  to  lie  down,  and  -then  to  be 
seated,  placed".  Here  it  is  used  as  a  noun,  and  is 
referred  to  the  chignon  placed  on  the  girl's  head. 
腿? ^ 玉 uan'  hsianj"  yu',  the  gem  which  smells  in  the 
evening,  the  tuberosa  (lat.  Poliauthes  tuberosa ). 
五分 底兒 u^-fen'  tP  ，r，  thick  five  fen.  The  fen  is 
the  tenth  part  of  the  ts'un,  an  inch.  The  shoe  sole 
is  called 底 兒 ti!  ，r，  or 底子 ti  -  tzu.  and  may  be  as 
thick  as  five  or  six  inches.  That  sort  of  heel  which 
is  placed  sometimes  in  the  center  of  the  sole  in 


— G2  — 


ladies  shoes  is  called 花 盆底兒 hua'  p'en'  ti^  ，r， 
" flower-pot  heel  '，.  雙 臉兒鞋 shuang'  lien  ，r  hsie、'， 
literally  "  two  faced  shoes,,  are  so  called  when  two 
ornamental  leather  strings,  come  from  under  the 
sole  on  the  point  of  the  shoe.  漂 白 p'iao'  pai-, 
whitewashed,  painted  in  white  ―  the  character 漂 
is  here  vulgarly  p'iao^.  明 期臉兒 ming?  ch'i  lien?'  ，r， 
Chinese  socks  are  so  called  when  the  seam  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  middle. 

TRANSLATION 

San，r,  San'r,  what  sort  of  dress  have  you  put 
on? ― "I  have  put  on  trowsers  made  of  foreign 
crape  ―  and  a  shirt  made  of  foreign  crape  ―  my 
hair  is  combed  in  a  round  chignon  ―  on  the  left  of 
it  I  have  stuck  a  tuberose  ―  and  to  the  right  a 
jasmine  ―  then  I  have  got  shoes  with  a  sole  half- 
inch  thick  and  with  leather  ornaments  一  and  white 
socks  with  the  seam  to  be  seen  outside. 


XL 

晬咩羊  抓把草 
跳花牆  餵他娘 

NOTES 

畔 mie'，the  sheep's  bleating.  他娘 t，a' niang'?, 
the  small  sheep's  mother.    This  is  one  of  those 


一  G3  一 

little  songs  the  mothers  teach  their  children,  when 
they  begin  to  speak. 

TRANSLATION 

The^bleating  small  sheep  一  has  jumped  over 
the  flowery  wall  ―  to  catch  a  bunch  of  grass  ~~ - 
and  to  feed  her  mother. 


XLI 


花大姐 


倆  . ：、 

NOTES 

The  beginning  of  this  song  is  not  clear  ；  it 
appears  that  the  disposition  of  words  in  the  first 
and  in  the  second  verse  is  irregular,  saying 大 翻 
車  小 翻 車 ta'*  fan'  tch'o'-hsiao:  fan  eh'o  instead  of 大 
車翻  小車 翻 ta'ch'o' fan'-hsiao。'ch，o'  fan',  meaning 
the  big  cart  has  overturned,  the  small  cart  has 
overturned.    Furthermore  the  song  speaks  at  the 


個  \iLF  UTS  ^ 

了  脚酒姐 

車 翻兒 兒小暍 親 

翻翻翻 襖 番面像 

大小 一  tt 緑 丁對倒 


—— 64  ― 


beginning  of  only  one  girl  and  it  ends  with  two. 
That  shows  the  song  is  not  complete  and  every 
cart  is  supposed  to  be  occupied  by  a  girl.  花 大 
姐 hua'  ta''  chie^  lit.  "  a  flowery  elder  sister"  means, 
a  beautiful  and  well  dressed  girl.  It  is  also  said 
in  the  same  sense 花班兒 hua'  niu'  ，r.  丁 香 ting 
hsiang,  clove,  very  small  feet  are  compared  to  grains 
of  clove. 

TRANSLATION 

A  big  cart  has  overturned  ―  a  small  cart  has 
overturned  ―  and  a  very  beautiful  young  lady  has 
fallen  out  of  one  ―  ( and  another  young  lady  has 
fallen  too )  ―  with  a  red  petticoat  ―  and  a  green 
overcoat  ―  with  feet  as  small  as  grains  of  clove  ― 
they  drink  wine  one  in  front  of  the  other  ―  and 
really  are  very  much  like  two  sisters. 


XLII 


兒  兒 

小道兒 兒兒籐 n: 几兒 

座神 帽套道 着遶廟 

一 個羅 外喝抬 一歸 

上着 項仵鬼 鬼兒來 

山坐 戴穿小 小門回 

高頭 上上個 個了巡 

高裏 頭身兩 四出出 


— 65 —— 


NOTES 

jji 申 道 shen?  tao''，  a  spirit.  夕 f» 套兒 uai^  t'ao^  ，r， 
"external  cover,'  is  a  sort  of  long  dress,  worn 
externally.  P 易道兒 ho'  tao'<  ，r，  and  also 喝道子 
ho'  tao^  tzu,  to  shout  before  the  chair  of  an  official  to 
make  way.  藤 暢 t，eng?  chiao^  a  light  chair  made  of 
rattan. ― 遠兒 i  jao4  ，r，  a  turn,  a  stroll.  出述 ch'u' 
hsiin',  to  go  out  on  a  tour  of  inspection. 

TRANSLATION  . 

On  a  very  high  mountain  there  is  a  small 
temple  ―  and  inside  sits  a  spirit  ―  he  wears  on  his 
head  a  crape-hat  ―  and  wears  on  his  body  a  long 
gown  ―  two  small  devils  go  in  front  shouting  for 
room  ―  four  small  devils  bear  the  rattan-chair  一 
he  has  gone  out  for  a  stroll  ―  to  make  an  inspection 
and  then  returning  comes  back  to  the  temple. 


XLIII 

糠 
飯 


NOTES 

打 ta\  to  beat,  to  strike,  to  work  in  metal.  亮 


堂吃^ 

堂 不不娘 

亮 兒兒親 

壺 猪婦他 

茶 小媳想 

把 個個汪 

1  二 

打 買娶淚 

新 新新眼 


—— OG —— 


堂 堂 liang'  t'angi  t'ang',  very  bright  ；  the  character 堂 
is  originally  read  in  the  second  tone,  but  here  is 
pronounced  in  the  first.  糖 k，ang'，  husks  of  grain 
with  which  pigs  are  fed. 

TRANSLATION 
A  newly  made  metal  tea-kettle  is  very  bright 
一  a  newly  bought  small  pig  does  not  eat  husks  of 
grain  ―  a  newly  married  wife  does  not  take  food  ― 
she  weeps  profusely  and  thinks  of  her  mother. 


XLIV  • 

m 兒 

NOTES 

This  song  contains  a  sketch  of  marriage  cere- 
monies. 喜 冲 冲 hsF'  ch'imgi  ch'ung'  very  merrily 
and  with  much  noise.  The  character  沖 ch'ung 
means  to  shake,  to  dash  against,  but  here  it  is 
only  used  to  mean  confusion,  hurry,  disorder.  洞 
房 tung4  fang ？，  the  bridal  room.    淚盈盈 lei''  ying' 


冲搠黠 盈回東 

冲大燈 淚來兒 

喜搭把 傍的黠 

頭子 一 住吃疼 

門裏屋 娘> ^不 心 

進 子房姑 郎你可 

一院洞 新新說 、我 


—— fj  / —— 

ying,  with  many  tears.  盈 盈 ying'  ying,  flowing,  in 
great  quantity,  said  of  tears.  The  character 盈 
is  here  in  the  first  tone,  but  its  regular  tone  is  the 
second,  and  ought  to  be  read  ying-.  新 那 hsin'  lang-, 
the  bridegroom. —不 住 的 pu'*  chu'  ti,  without  inter- 
ruption.   來 [eJ  lai-  huei-,  repeatedly. 

TRANSLATION 

Entering  the  gate,  how  merry  it  is  ！  ―  in  the 
courtyard  they  have  raised  a  big  shed  ―  in  the 
bridal  room  the  lamp  is  lighted  一  the  bride  in  a 
corner  is  weeping  bitterly  ―  the  bridegroom  repea- 
tedly calls  to  her  ―  and  says  :  if  you  do  not  take 
some  food  ―  my  heart  will  ache. 


XLV 

鈴 鐺 

我 騎上、 

去 

NOTES 

This  song  is  repeated  by  boys  to  ridicule  the 
buddhist  priests  who  go  round  begging,  and  read 
their  sacred  books  shaking  a  small  beil.  They  are 
therefore  compared  to  asses  and  mules  which  are 
similarly  provided  with   bells.     鈴 鎮 ling'  tang' , 


搖 暍去兒 

尙嘆兒 

和 嗒那天 

尙 兒到到 


一  68  — 


a  small  bell  ―  旦兒搭 pronounce  torta,  a  peculiar 
voice  to  get  the  mule,  or  the  ass  to  walk.  There 
are  of  course  no  characters  for  it  and  those  written 
above  not  only  are  completely  arbitrary,  but  do 
not  exactly  correspond  to  the  pronunciation.  The 
same  is  to  be  said  for  the  word  俊 P 易 uo-ho, 
which  has  the  same  meaning. 

TRANSLATION 

Oh  the  bonze,  the  bonze  is  shaking  the  bell  ― 
go  ahead  ！  I  will  ride  him  一  ride  how  far  ？  ―  as 
far  as  the  boundary  of  the  sky. 


XL  VI 

天 

跑 

NOTES 

These  words  are  sung  to  insult  Mohammedans 
who  are  not  allowed  to  eat  pork.  左 右 tsuo^  mo''， 
right  and  left  (the  Chinese  right  hand  being  the 
European  left  hand).  Means  now  and  now,  several 
times,  repeatedly. 


半少家 

奸 約嫌往 

兒麼 肉右頭 

间那 猪小猪 

间麽 雨嫌着 

小怎 四左抱 


— 69  — 

TRANSLATION 

The  small  Mohammedan  ―  how  deceitful  is 
he  !  ―  to  buy  only  four  ounces  of  pork,  he  is  wei- 
ghing for  a  good  half-day  ―  now  he  complains  it  is 
little  and  then  he  complains  again  it  is  little  ―  then 
folding  in  his  arms  a  pig's  head  he  runs  home. 


XL  VII 


礁 燕扯孫 呂李瘸 竈 城 

毬 麽窝麽 線麽扯 麽賓麽 兒麽爺 麽廟麼 

郧 甚子甚 花甚臏 甚洞甚 柺甚王 甚隙甚 

is! 慮燕燕 扯扯孫 孫呂呂 瘸竊竈 竈城城 


1 

兒  丈 

棍  兩 

呀三五 六 七打兩  二兒雙 虎 牛 

二建 J!K 數 兒兒打 麽掌麽 棍麽檜 麽鼓麽 

呀 打棍錢 鏨錠花 甚馬甚 夾甚植 甚皮甚 

1 倒花銅 鏨銀花 雨二二 雙雙虎 虎牛牛 


— 70  — 


肚兒疼 

雪 花兒飄 

肚 甚麽 

雪 甚麽雪 

搖葫蘆 

孫猴 兒钢打 猪八戒 

搖 甚麽搖 

NOTES 

Chinese  children  practice  a  game  which  is  also 
known  by  boys  in  foreign  countries.  Two  boys  sit 
one  facing  the  other  and  strike  first  their  own  hands 
together  and  then  each  other's.  To  keep  measure 
with  the  movement  they  mark,  the  time  with  these 
words,  which  are  meaningless,  and  are  huddled 
together  only  for  the  sake  of  the  final  rhymes.  The 
game  is  called 打 花巴掌 ta'  hiia'  pa'  chang-'.  呀 ya', 
is  purely  phonetic  and  meaningless.  倒 打 ta:)''ta:、 
to  strike  alternately  ―  here  the  character 倒 is 
pronounced  in  the  fourth  and  not  in  the  third  tone. 
建三棍 5i  lieii?  san' kun''，r，  uninterruptedly  three 
sticks  ( that  is  to  say  three  blows).  數 in  the  third 
tone  shu\  means  to  calculate,  to  reckon.  誕 tsan, 
to  carve,  to  chisel.  籠 子 tsan''  tzu,  a  chisel.  銀 餘 
yin-  ting'',  an  ingot  of  silver.  夾棍兒 chia'  kun'«  ，r， 
an  instrument  of  torture  to  squeeze  the  ankles  lit. 
squeezing  sticks.  郞 種 k'o>  lang'  ch'iu-  ；  I  cannot 
find  any  explanation  of  this.  The  Chinese  say  that 
they  do  not  know  the  meaning  of  the  word.  AH 
that  I  could  get  from  them  is  that  the  vulgar  word 
k'o'-lang  ，i,,  means  a  corner,  and  is  used  instead 
of  the  more  common 嬉拉兒 ka'-la- V  (  written 


一 ' 


according  to  Sir  Thomas  Wade's  manner  ) .  The 
word  ch'iu-  is  a  ball.  Could  it  be  an  empty  ball"  ？ 
― 孫 ^  Sun 'pin'  a  remarkable  minister  in  the  old 
state  of  Jen  ；  generally  known  by  all  children. 呂 
洞 賓 Lti3  tuag'  pin',  one  of  the  eight  genii.  鐵 才另— 
t'ie^  kuaP  li  '-,  another  of  the  eight  genii,  a  lame  man 
called  also  :  腐拐李 ch'ue-  kuai'  li^,  竈王爺 tsao'* 
mng-  ye'-,  The  god  of  the  cooking  stoves,  familiar 
Chinese  god  to  whom  a  sacrifice  is  offered  the  23^ 
day  of  the  twelfth  moon.  The  god  is  said  to  have 
a  wife  called 憲 王奶奶 tsao'-  uang-  nai-  nai"  she  is 
worshipped  in  Chinese  families,  but  not  in  the 
shops,  in  which  only  the  Tsao-uang  is  worshipped. 
城陰廟 ch'eng^  huang-  miao\  the  tutelar  god  of  Chinese 
cities.  搖莉藍 iao-  hu'  lu-,  to  shake  a  pumpkin, 
one  of  the  favourite  amusements  of  Chinese  babies, 
who  are  very  often  seen  deeply  absorbed  in  shaking 
a  small  calabash.  孫猴兒 sun'  hou-'r,  the  monkey 
traveller  in  the  novel  西遊 R 已 Hsi'-yu--chi's  Re- 
collections of  wanderings  in  the  west  countries. 
播八戒 cbu'  pa'  chie's  a  pig  spoken  of  in  the  same 
novel  as  lazy  and  uxorious  and  therefore  severely 
beaten  by  the  monkey  who  was  in  charge  of  his 
education.  These  notions  although  taken  from  a 
novel  in  literary  style,  yet  are  generally  known  by 
the  people,  that  have  besides  many  ditties  and 
rhymes  on  the  subject. 


TRANSLATION 
One.  two  ―  let    us  strike   alternately  three 


— 72  — 

blows  ―  five  flowery  sticks  ―  count  the  cash  ― 
six  chisels  ―  seven  ingots  of  silver  ―  let  us  strike 
as  long  as  two  chang  and  one  foot  (！)  一  two,  what 
two  ？  一  two  horse  shoes  ―  two,  what  two  ？  ―  a 
pair  of  squeezing  sticks  ―  a  pair,  what  pair  ？  ―  the 
tiger  bears  a  gun  on  its  shoulders  一  tiger,  what 
tiger  ？  ―  a  drum  covered  with  ox  skin  ―  ox,  what 
ox  ?  ―  an  empty  ball  (？)  ―  K'oS  what  KV'  ？  ―  a 
swallow's  nest  ―  swallow,  what  swallow  ？  ―  pull 
the  flowery  thread  ―  pull,  what  pull  ？  ―  Sun  pin 
pulls  ―  Sun,  what  Sun  ？  ―  LiT'-tung^  pin  ―  Lii"',  what 
Lii3? —— The  lame  genius  Ch'ue-  kuai"  ，r  IP  ―  Ch'iie'^, 
what  ch'ue  ？  ―  The  god  of  the  cooking  stoves. 
Stove,  what  stove  ？  ―  The  god  protector  of  the 
city  ― City,  what  city? ― The  belly  aches ― belly, 
what  belly  ？  一  shake  the  pumpkin  ―  shake,  what 
shake  ？  ―  Snow-flakes  are  whirling  round  一  snow, 
what  snow  ？  ―  The  monkey  Sun'  Chu'-po'-chie's 


XL  VIII 


燈  兒 

兒蓮棍 

正 花兒枝 二糖兒 

月 蓮佛串 月白佛 

正個着 二 個着 

的 逃念花 的吃念 

掌 愛兒莉 掌愛兒 

巴太香 巴太香 

花 太着莉 花太着 

打 老燒茱 打老燒 


蓮烟蓮  蓮薯蓮 肉蓮鶴 蓮鴨蓮 

枝三 東兒枝 四刺兒 枝五白 兒枝六 煮兒枝 七煮兒 枝八爆 兒枝九 

串月 關佛串 月摘怫 串月生 佛串月 白佛串 Hr: 白 佛串月 白佛串 m: 

一  兒三 個着兒 四不着 兒五個 着兒六 個着兒 七個着 兒八個 着兒九 

S  花的 吃念花 的魚念 花的吃 念花的 巧念花 的吃念 花的吃 念花的 

一  莉掌 愛兒莉 掌吃兒 莉掌愛 兒莉掌 愛兒莉 掌愛兒 莉掌愛 兒莉掌 

荣巴 太香荥 巴太香 茉巴太 香茉巴 太香茉 巴太香 茉巴太 香荥巴 

莉花 太着莉 花太着 莉花太 着莉花 太着莉 花太着 莉花太 着莉花 

■ 荣打 老燒茉 打老燒 荣打老 燒茉打 老燒荣 打老燒 茉打老 燒荣打 


NOTES 

This  song,  like  the  last  one  is  also  sung  by 
boys  when  playing  at 打花巴 掌 ta"' hua' pa' chang:). 
IE 月正 Cheng'  yiiei  cheng",  the  first  moon.  蓮 花 燈 
lien-  hua'  teng',  Lantern  made  of  paper  and  shaped 
like  a  lotus  flower.  逛 燈 kuang;  teng',  means  to  go 
out  on  the  streets  to  look  at  the  different  shows  of 
lanterns  exhibited  during  five  days,  from  the  thir- 
teenth to  the  seventeenth  in  the  first  month  in  the 
year.  The  regular  day  for  the  show  is  the  1 5'^  on 
which  falls  the 燈 葡 teng'  chie-  feast  of  lanterns. 
念着佛 nien''  cho  Fao-,  uttering  prayers  before 
Buddha.  串枝蓮 ch' 腿'' cliih'  lien?,  a  wild  flower  not 
unlike  the  lotus.  This  refrain  is  repeated  at  every 
couplet.  We  translate  it  only  once.  白 糖 棍 IJJ 
pai-  fang-  k!m''  *r,  small  sugar  sticks  bought  by  children. 
關東姻 kuan'  tung'  yea',toba  co  from  Manchuria,  the 
best  quality  of  tobacco.  摘 刺 chai' tz'u^,  to  take 
away  the  bones  from  a  fish.  生白著 shcng'  pai-  shii:!， 
uncooked  sweet  potato.  徵 甲, tun''  ya'，  a  stewed 
cluck.  花 f 禹' pai-  hua'  ou:;,  a  flour  made  from  the 


耦 蓮梨蓮 

花兒枝 一 花 枝 

白 佛串月 雪佛串 

一  個 着兒十 個着兒 

『1 吃 念花的 吃念花 

一  愛 兒莉掌 愛兒莉 

太 香茉巴 太香茉 

太 着莉花 太着莉 

老 燒茉打 老燒茉 


― /l) ― 

root-stock  of  the  lotus.  雪花梨 hsue^  hua,  口，  sort 
of  very  good  pears  found  in  Shantung,  whose  pulp 
is  said  to  be  as  white  as  flakes  of  snow. 

TRANSLATION 

Strike  the  hands,  in  the  first  month  of  the  year 
― the  old  lady  likes  to  go  out  to  look  at  the  lotus- 
lanterns ― burning  incense  and  saying  prayers  ― 
with  jasmines,  jasmines  and  wild  lotus  ―  Strike  the 
hands,  the  second  day  of  the  second  moon  ―  the 
old  lady  likes  to  eat  sugar  sticks  ―  Strike  the  hands, 
the  third  day  of  the  third  moon  ―  the  old  lady  likes 
to  smoke  Manchurian  tobacco.  Strike  the  hands, 
the  fourth  day  of  the  fourth  moon  一  the  old  lady 
likes  to  eat  fish  without  taking  the  bones  away. ― 
Strike  the  hands,  the  fifth  of  the  fifth  moon  ―  the 
old  lady  likes  to  eat  raw  yams  ―  strike  the  hands, 
the  sixth  day  of  the  sixth  moon  ―  the  old  lady 
likes  to  eat  boiled  pork  ―  strike  the  hands,  the 
seventh  day  of  the  seventh  moon  ―  the  old  lady- 
likes  to  eat  a  boiled  chicken  with  no  sauce  ―  strike 
the  hands,  the  eighth  day  of  the  eighth  moon  ― 
the  old  lady  likes  to  eat  stewed  duck  ―  strike  the 
hands,  the  ninth  day  of  the  ninth  moon  ―  the  old 
lady  likes  to  eat  lotus  root  flour  ―  strike  the  hand, 
the  first  day  of  the  tenth  moon  ―  the  old  lady  likes 
to  eat  snow-white  pears. 


XLIX 


伯 


NOTES 

These  words  are  not  heard  within  the  walls  of 
Peking,  but  in  the  country.  羅 兒 luo^  ，r  a  silt  to 
bolt  flour.  曳 ye'',  to  drag,  to  pull,  to  shake.  伯 
read  by  the  peasants  not  puo?  but  pai',  one's  father's 
elder  brother.  This  character  is  read  also  paP,  in 
the  word 大伯子 ta''  pai^  tzu,  title  given  to  a  man 
by  his  younger  brother's  wife.  叔 shu-  read  here 
shou-,  as  the  peasants  do.  One's  father's  younger 
brother. 

TRANSLATION 

Beating  the  sieve  sift  ！  ―  shaking  the  sieve  sift  ！ 
― when  the  wheat  is  ripe,  we  will  invite  your 
uncle  ―  your  elder  uncle  likes  to  eat  meat  ―  your 
younger  uncle  likes  to  eat  beans. 


你兒兒 

請 肉 豆 

篩篩 了吃吃 

兒兒 熟愛愛 

羅羅 子伯叔 

打曳 麥你你 


,  NOTES 

These  words  are  sung  by  children  to  imitate 
the  perambulating  vendors  in  the  street.  ~ - 副 售 
i'  fu''  k'uang'  a  pair  of  baskets  hanging  from  the  pole 
called 扁 檐 pien3  tan. 八 根 兒 繩 pa'  ken'r  sheng^ 
eight  strings.  As  every  basket  is  attached  to  an 
end  of  the  pole  by  four  strings,  so  eight  strings 
conies  to  mean  a  porter's  pole  and  more  generally 
every  sort  of  small  Chinese  industry  practiced  by 
vendors  furnished  with  such  a  pole.  九 城 chiu^ 
ch'eng-,  the  nine  cities,  the  city  of  Peking.  靑 茶 
ch'ingi  ts'ai^  every  sort  of  green  vegetable.  After 
speaking  of  the  vendors  of  vegetables  the  song  comes 
to  speak  of  a  curious  sort  of  small  industry  practiced 
in  Peking.  Two  men  go  together.  One  marches 
forward  and  beats  a  little  drum,  the  other  bearing 


城 

檐  兒賣 

繩扁 阿兒 錢來 

筐兒了 阿兒茱 兒銀飾 

副根起 葱蒜靑 鼓雜首 

一 八 挑賣賣 賣打暍 1^ 


— 78  — 


on  the  shoulder  a  pole  with  baskets  calls  loudly  for 
people  who  are  willing  to  sell  silver  head-ornaments, 
or  other  small  objects  of  value.  This  proceeding  is 
called  P 易 雜銀錢 ho'  tsa?  yin^  ch'ien ？，  to  call  for  diffe- 
rent (and  bad  quality)  silver  to  buy  them  for  ready 
money. 

声  TRANSLATION 

With  a  pair  of  baskets  一  are  provided  all  the 
small  pedlars  一  with  pole  and  baskets  they  go  all 
over  the  city  ―  to  sell  onions  ―  to  sell  garlic  ―  to 
sell  green  vegetables  ―  the  man  who  beats  the 
drum  ―  and  the  other  who  cries  :  I  buy  objects 
of  silver  一  ohe,  (who  has  got )  head  ornaments  let 
him  come  and  sell. 


LI 

翻餅^ 餅 
油 炸 餡 兒 餅 
翻過 來贈瞧 

NOTES 

Chinese  boys  playing  together  take  each  other 
by  the  hands  and  then  turn  round  without  separating- 
the  hands.  The  movement  of  turning  round  is 
likened  to  the  action  of  turning  a  pie  on  the  pan, 


一  79  一 


and  so  this  game  is  called 翻餅； I； 各餅 fan'  ping^  lao'* 
ping-'.  格 餅 lao'  ping-',  to  cook  a  pie.  油 ； jS;^  iu'-)-cha ？， 
fried  in  the  oil. 

TRANSLATION  ' 

Turn  the  pie,  cook  the  pie  ―  the  pie  with  stuf- 
fing fried  in  oil  一  turn  it  round  and  let  us  sek  e/ 


LII 

太 兒 
兒 

NOTES 

一 落 f 専 兒 i'  luo"  chuani'r,  a  pile  of  bricks 馬 尾 
纂 §g  ma?'  i:''  tsuan'-  ，r，  sort  of  sham  chignon  made  of 
the  hair  of  a  horse  tail. ― 心 i'  hsin*.  she  has  no 
other  thought  but,  compare  latin  "  toto  covde " . 
凉 凉眷兒 summer  hair-pins  ；  during  the  summer 
ladies  are  supposed  to  lay  aside  silver-pins  and  to 
wear  jade  pins  and  also  jade  bracelets  and  rings. 
People  who  cannot  afford  to  buy  jade  pins,  get  for 
a  trifling  sum  pins  made  of  glass,  imitating  the  jade. 
These  last  are  called  Hang'  Hang'-'  tsan>'r. 


兒 太兒簪 

磚 老纂凉 

落 個尾凉 

一 着馬個 

上 坐髮戴 

山 上頭要 

高 兒根心 

高磚三 一 


一  80  一 

TRANSLATION- 

On  a  very  high  mountain  there  is  a  pile  of 
bricks.  ―  On  the  bricks  there  is  sitting-  an  old 
lady  ―  with  three  hairs  and  a  false  horse-tail 
chignon  ―  and  she  only  thinks  that  she  wants  to 
wear  summer  pins  on  her  hair. 


LIII 


錢 米 

兒 兒 飯酒 

百  無點  的的走 

I 坐熱登 》5 動 子子妹 年妹起 們們就 

走上不 板不椅 腿妹半 妹> ^你你 我 

鞋 家 * ^搬搬 搬沒鈴 還鈴還 鳴娘 

兒 攀娘說 說說說 說說說 說說說 不不親 

底 兒到哥 子哥子 哥子哥 子哥子 也也瞧 

厚 幫我哥 嫂哥嫂 哥嫂哥 嫂哥嫂 我我瞧 


— 81  ― 


NOTES 

Chinese  wives  are  allowed  from  time  to  time  to 
visit  their  old  family,  and  to  stay  there  for  some 
days.  Here  this  song  depicts  the  grief  of  a  wife 
who  goes  to  visit  her  mother,  arrived  there  she 
meets  with  her  brother  who  treats  her  well  and 
with  her  sister-in-law  who  hates  her.  The  words 
are  simple  and  touching.  厚 底兒鞋 hou'  tP  ，r  hsie\ 
shoes  with  a  thick  heel.  臂兒窄 pang'  eur  chap,  the 
heel-band  is  narrow,  and  therefore  it  is  painful  to 
walk.  Pang'  eur  is  "the  leather  heel-band  of  a  shoe, 
for  strengthening  the  back  of  a  shoe"  (Giles). 娘家 
niang-  chia',  a  wife's  family.  走 "百 tsou^  pai^ 
I  walk  a  hundred,  it  is  understood 基 地 『 ti''， 
Chinese  miles.  The  k'ang^  Chinese  brick  bed  is 
warmed  during  winter  by  fuel.  板裳 pan^  teng'-, 
a  wooden  stool.  還半年 huan"  pan^  nien^,  it  may  be 
understood  so  "  to  give  her  a  little  money  we  shall 
borrow  it  and  then  we  shall  not  be  able  to  repay  it 
back  until  after  a  good  half-year'.  還不起 huan、' 
pu4  ch'P,  in  the  same  meaning,  we  shall  not  be  able 
to  give  it  back  to  the  person  who  lends  the  rice  to 
us.  The  expression  pu^  ch'P  following  the  verb,  that 
verb  acquires  a  negative  potential  meaning,  as  not 
6 


狗 

黄  打 

大  來 

個兒 出 

見 裙手哥 

遇 的的哥 

兒 我我的 

門了 了心 

出 撕咬忍 


一  82  — 


to  be  able  to...  or  better  corresponding  to  the  Chi- 
nese, "not  to  be  up  to... "  忍 心 jen'' hsin'，  these 
words  are  a  reproach  to  the  brother,  meaning  you 
who  may  tolerate  in  your  heart  that  I  suffer  so 
much,  meaning  that  the  brother  after  all  his  good 
intentions  lets  his  wife  do  as  she  likes. 

TRANSLATION 

With  high-heeled  shoes  ―  and  narrow  heel- 
bands  ― I  walk  a  hundred  li  to  arrive  at  my  home, 
― My  elder  brother  says  :  Sit  on  the  k，ang''  —  my 
sister-in-law  says :  the  k'ang  is  not  warm  ―  my 
elder  brother  says  :  bring  here  a  wooden  stool  ― 
my  sister-in-law  says :  it  cannot  be  brought  round 
― my  elder  brother  says  :  bring  here  a  chair  ―  my 
sister-in-law  says  :  the  chair  has  no  legs  ―  my  elder 
brother  says  :  give  your  younger  sister  some  money 
― the  sister-in-law  says :  we  would  take  half  a 
year  to  pay  it  back  ―  my  elder  brother  says  :  give 
your  gounger  sister  a  little  rice  ―  the  sister-in-law 
says,  we  could  not  give  it  back  to  the  lender  ―  But 
I  will  not  eat  your  rice  ―  and  I  will  not  drink  your 
wine  ―  I  will  only  see  my  mother  and  then  go 
away  ―  going  out  of  the  gate  I  have  met  with  a 
big  yellow  dog  ―  that  has  torn  my  apron  ―  and 
has  bitten  my  hand  —  My  patient  elder  brother, 
come  out  and  beat  the  dog  ！ 


一  83  — 


LIV 


NOTES 

These  words  are  sung  to  small  girls  by  their 
parents.  The  first  two  verses  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  rest,  but,  as  a  girl  is  the  subject  of  the 
song,  they  fit  very  well.  杜黎兒 tu''  li''  ，r，  a  pear 
with  small  fruit  ( Pynis  betulaefolia ).  瞎嘆搭 hsia' 
ka-  ta'，  familiar  expression,  it  means  to  make  noise 
using  a  pair  of  scissors  and  without  good  effect, 
and  it  is  said  of  the  small  girls  who  begin  to  learn 
how  to  cut  the  cloth  to  make  dresses  of  it.  Hsia' 


麽搭家  毋哭穀  丫 

甚 1#人  丈别斗  禿 

作瞎給  勸你二  的 

樹 頭子了  來 母有兒 你 

兒花 丫剪 會哭哭 過丈還 米粥死 

茱 白活起 塔也也 婿毋家 小豆不 

杜開養 拿！^ 爹一娘 女丈我 碍熬餓 


— 84  — 


originally  means  blind,  and  then  irregularly,  badly 
as  a  blind  man  could  do.  給人家 keP  jen-  chia', 
they  give  (the  parents)  her  to  people,  that  is  to  say 
they  get  her  married.  豆兒粥 ton''  ，r  chou,  a  gruel 
made  of  rice  and  beans.  秀丫頭 t'u'  ya'  t'ou?  bald- 
headed  servant,  title  given  in  the  family  to  small 
girls,  who  are  generally  called  by  their  parents 
ya'  h 謹 2  or  丫頭 ya^  tW.  餓不死 ngo"  pu''  ssu\ 
negative  potential  form,  she  cannot  be  starved  to 
death. 

TRANSLATION 

The  small  pear-tree  ―  has  opened  its  white 
flowers  ―  to  bring  to  light  a  small  girl  ―  what  is 
the  use  of  it  ？  ―  she  begins  first  to  take  the  scissors 
and  to  cut  badly  the  cloth  一  then  when  she  has 
learned  to  cut  the  cloth,  one  must  give  her  up  to 
other  people  ―  the  father  also  weeps  ―  the  mother 
also  weeps  一  the  bridegroom  comes  over  to  console 
his  mother-in-law  ―  and  says  :  mother-in-law,  mo- 
ther-in-law, do  not  weep ― I  have  got  at  home  three 
pecks  of  grain  ―  we  will  grind  the  oats  一  and  boil 
a  rice  congee  with  beans  ―  so  that  your  bald-hea- 
ded daughter  shall  not  be  starved  to  death. 

LV 

紅葫蘆 
軋腰兒 

我 是爺爺 的肉錢 5i 


一  85  ― 


NOTES 

The  words  are  supposed  to  be  said  by  a  small 
girl.  紅薪魔 hung?  hu'  lu«,  red  pumpkin  ；  the  boys 
who  have  not  enough  money  to  buy  playthings, 
content  themselves  with  pumpkins  which  they  go 
whirling  about.  車 L 腰兒 ya*  yao'  ，r，  "  with  crushed 
sides''  is  the  name  of  a  sort  of  pumpkin  shaped  in 
the  form  of  two  balls  placed  one  on  the  other. 
Cutting  this  pumpkin  in  the  middle  one  has  two 
cups.  As  to  the  relation  between  these  words  to 
what  follows,  I  suppose  the  girl  speaks  of  herself 
as  of  a  precious  little  thing,  because  that  kind  of 
pumpkin  is  sometimes  appreciated  by  the  Chinese 
who  buy  the  smallest  for  two  or  three  taels,  and 
wear  them  on  the  body  as  an  ornament.    肉妓 兒 


子兒  娘  子 

妹包麽 娘麽： g 麽娘麼  漢 

親氣甚 姑甚賠 甚姑甚  嫁 

的的賠 賠賠兒 賠賠賠  頭 

哥子 (命 櫃奶籮 哥巾嫂  >J 

哥嫂 爺大奶 哥手嫂 子子那 

是是爺 箱奶線 哥布嫂 罈權發 

我我爺 大奶針 哥花嫂 破爛打 


一  86  — 


jou'  chiao'  ，r，  lit.  "  my  flesh  dear",  an  endearing  term 
for  a  little  girl,  meaning  to  say :  you  are  my 
own  flesh  and  blood.  氣包兒 ch'i^  pao'  ，r，  curious 
express  on  said  of  a  person  who  has  the  privilege 
of  irritating  somebody  constantly.  The  literal 
translation  would  be  "  the  wrath-bundle".  The 
small  girl  speaks  so  because  it  is  generally  admitted 
and  practiced  in  Chinese  families  that  the  elder 
brother's  wife  carries  on  continual  warfare  with  her 
sisters-in-law.  Afterwards  the  girl  pretends  to  want 
to  know  what  their  relations  will  give  her  on  her 
wedding  day.  To  give  cadeaux  to  a  bride  to  form 
her  dowry  is  called 賠 p'ei",  or  more  completely 賠 
送 p'ei-  sung'*.  奶 奶 nai-'  nai,^  one's  father's  mother. 
The  bannermen  call  naP  naP  a  mother.  針 線 直 羅 
chen'  hsien''  p'uo^  luo?，  a  basket  where  needles,  pin, 
thread,  scissors  are  kept  and  everything  else 
required  for  ladies'  work.  姑 娘 ku'-niang-,  is  here 
used  instead  of  the  personal  pronoun  thou  or  you. 
輝子 fan'  tza,  a  big  bottle  to  contain  salt  vegetables, 
water  and  also  coal.  耀 子 kuan'*-tzii，  other  sort  of 
vessel  made  of  porcelain  or  of  earthenware.  嫁漢 
子 chia*  ban''  tzu  to  marry  a  husband,  a  man.  Here 
it  would  perhaps  be  better  to  translate  "a  fellow,' 
as  the  woman's  words  are  not  inspired  with  friendly 
feelings  altogether. 

TRANSLATION 

The  red  pumpkin  ―  has  crushed  sides  ―  I  am 
my  grandfather's  "own  dear  flesh  and  blood'' ― 


一  87  — 


I  am  my  brother's  "carnal  sister"  ―  and  I  am  my 
sister-in-law's  "bundle  of  wrath" ―  grandfather, 
grandfather,  what  will  you  give  me  at  my  marriage? 
― "I  will  give  you  a  big  chest  and  a  big  wardrobe 
― "Grandmother,  grandmother,  what  will  you  give 
me ？ •，  一  "I  will  give  you  a  work  basket"  ― " Elder 
brother,  elder  brother,  what  will  you  give  me  ？ ，： 一 
" I  will  give  you  a  fancy  cloth  tcnvel"  —  Sister-in- 
law,  sister-in-law,  what  will  you  give  me  ？，，  一  "A 
broken  jar  ―  and  a  smashed  bottle  一  and  send  you, 
that  girl,  away  to  marry  a  fellow  *. 


LVI 


孛 逵 
眼 兒 
鞭 杆 兒 

兒 

兒 

NOTES 

These  words  are  sung  to  children  of  a  brown 
complexion.  The  second  verse  is  simply  a  refrain 
with  no  meaning.    小 黑 兒 hsiao"^  hei'  ，r，  nickname 


像着黑  餅項 

煤的 K 個 兒麯山 

黑 子 長 兒 着 牛 黑 

兒 喲兒牙 JS 黑個. 

葉呀 黑着裏 着着. ..i 

樹呀小 咨手騎 K  二 


'  — 88  — 

given  to  a  brown  child.  The  word  hei'  contains  all 
the  shades  of  colour  from  black  to  brown.  李 逵 
Li:;  k'uei?,  a  celebrated  brigand  in  the  Sung  dynasty, 
who  was  of  a  brown  complexion.  He  is  spoken  of 
in  the  Novel 水 滸 shueP  hu^.  His  nickname  was 黑 
旋 風 hei'hsiian-  feng',  the  black  whirlwind.  咨着牙 
tzii'  cho'  ya?，  showing  the  teeth. 

TRANSLATION 

The  tree-leaves  are  dark  ―  yaya  yiietzu  mei  一 
the  small  brown  boy  is  very  like  Li-k'uei  ―  showing 
his  teeth  and  staring  ―  he  grasps  in  his  hand  a 
black  whip-stick  ―  he  rides  on  a  black  ox  ―  eats  a 
cake  made  of  black  flour  ―  and  going  up  he  gets  as 
far  as  the  mountain  summit. 


LVII 

兒 

柳 斗兒大 
兒 哥哥 

NOTES 

荆 ching'  is  instead  of 荆 富 花 ching'  hao'  hua'， 
the  Vitex  incisa^  with  stems  of  which  baskets  are 


兒多斗  斗 

棍兒柳 籮倒柳 

條處了 笸篛着 

荆用編 編恒替 


— 89  — 


woven.  柳 斗 liou3  tou?',  a  measure  made  of  willow 
branches  ；  sometimes  it  is  made  of  Vitex  stems,  but 
it  is  even  then  called  a  "willow-peck".  誉着 kuan:'- 
cho',  with  regard  to,  giving  a  denomination.  荆 條 
棍 兒 ching'  t'ia3-  kun'*  ，r  stems  of  Vitex. 

TRANSLATION 

The  stems  of  the  Vitex  incisa  ―  are  fit  for 
many  uses  ― one  may  make  of  it  a  "willow-peck" 
― and  one  may  make  of  it  a  basket  ―  the  basket  is 
indeed  larger  than  the  willow-peck  ―  and  calls  the 
willow  peck  "elder  brother,,. 


LVIII 


兒 就不要 媽 


NOTES 

The  first  two  verses  with  which  the  song  begins 
are  called  頭子 tzi  "  head".  They  do  not 
seem  to  have  here  any  relation  with  the  meaning  of 
the  following  words.  The  song  speaks  about  some 
cases  in  which  new-married  men  forget  the  duty 
of  obedience  to  their  own  mother,  and  want  to  set 


婦叉家 

抓 媳耍分 

豆兒 個就就 

蠶把 了媽叉 

鐡大 娶要耍 


- 90  — 


up  a  family  by  themselves.  The  words  are  ironical 
and  there  is  in  them  a  sense  of  reproach  and  grief. 
鐵 t'ie",  iron,  here  "as  hard  as  iron",  霞 豆 ts'an?  tou''， 
broad  beans,  which  are  sold  to  children  on  the 
streets  for  the  modest  sum  of  a  ta  for  a  handful.  大 
把 兒 ta4  pa3  'r,  a  big  handful.  耍 叉 shua^  ch'a',  to 
light  with  a  pronged  stick,  metaph.  for  "  to  quarrel". 
分 家 fen'  chia',  to  set  up  an  autonomous  family,  to 
separate  from  the  old  stock. 

TRANSLATION. 

Broad  beans  as  hard  as  iron  一  to  be  had  in 
big  handfuls  一  after  having  married  a  wife,  then  he 
does  not  want  his  mother  一  if  he  wanted  his  mother 
then  they  would  quarrel  一  and  if  they  quarrelled, 
then  he  ought  to  separate  from  the  old  house.  ― 

LIX 


口 

個傍 樂走門 

二雨細 娘大房 

的  十站奏 姑的洞 

兒 過燈扇 手着家 A 

婦兒 戳傘鼓 抬婆兒 

媳 口 燈鑼個 子到門 

娶門 宮旗八 轎抬進 


— 91  — 


小 新 郎 
三年 並二載 
小子沒 處兒擺 

NOTES, 

娶媳、 婦兒的 ch'ii:;  hsi^  fui  ，r  ti,  the  persons  who 
go  to  fetch  the  bride  and  take  her  to  the  bridegroom's 
house.  A  marriage  procession.  宮 燈 kung'  teng', 
" palace  lanterns  ，，  a  sort  of  lanterns  taken  in  hand 
by  people  in  the  marriage  cortege.  They  are  made 
with  silk,  or  glass  doors,  and  have  no  lighted 
candles  in  them.  戮 燈 ch'uo'  teng',  another  kind 
of  lanterns  fixed  on  a  long  stick,  which  may  be 
stuck  in  the  ground.  鼓 手 ku^  shou\  literally 
"drum-hands"  general  name  for  all  musicians  who 
accompany  the  bride-chair.  Some  beat  drums, 
other  play  on  a  sort  of  trumpet  called 鎖 卩[^  suo^  na'. 
These  men  are  also  called  吹 鼓手的 ch'ui'  ku:: 
shou3  ti.  奏 樂 tsou''  yiie'',  to  play  solemn  music.  細 
樂 hsi^  yiie's  a  concert,  a  supposed  harmony  produced 
by  different  instruments.  婆 家 p'uo-  chia',  mother- 
in-law,  mother-in-law's  family,  in  the  husband's 
family.  小 新 郞 hsiao^  hsin*  lang-,  the  young 
bridegroom.  二 載 two  years.  三年 並二載 
san>  nien-  ping'  eur''  tsai',  a  curious  expression  to  mean 
5  years. 

TRANSLATION 
The  bridal  procession  ―  passes  by  the  gate  ― 


會了頭 

去娶丫 


一  92  — 


there  are  twelve  "palace  lanterns "  and  "fixed 
lanterns', ― banners,  gongs,  umbrellas,  fans  are  on 
each  side  ―  eight  musicians  produce  music  ―  the 
chair  which  contains  the  girl  passes  on  ―  and  brings 
her  as  far  as  her  mother-in-law's  family  house-gate 
― she  enters  the  door  and  goes  into  the  bridal  room 
― she  goes  to  stay  with  her  young  bridegroom  ― 
after  having  married  her  these  five  years  there 
are  so  many  babies  and  girls  that  there  is  no  more 
room  in  the  house  for  them. 


梨 

娘 脆  .  吃 

要薄籬  你 

不兒^ 梨  兒 

d  長 兒竊輔 婦 

巴婦 吃錢要  媳 

尾 媳要閒 兒驢集 梨皮兒 

雀 了媽有 婦上起 了了婦 

喜 娶媽沒 媳備去 買打媳 


NOTES 

This  song  is  inspired  by  the  same  feeling  as 
song  N°  58.    竊 兒薄脆 uo'  ，r  pao^  ts'ueiS  sort  of 


— 93  — 


very  hard  and  cheap  cake.  Jj^  ^  chao''  li ？，  a  big 
spoon  made  of  willow  stems  and  used  to  take  food 
out  of  the  pan.  The  current  phrase  "we  have  no 
idle  money  to  mend  the  willow  spoon  '，  means  that  a 
person  has  no  intention  of  spending  money  for 
useless  things,  as  would  be  to  mend  a  willow  spoon. 
打 皮 p，i?，  to  peel  a  fruit. 

TRANSLATION 
The  magpie  has  a  long  tail  ―  after  he  has  taken 
a  wife  he  no  more  wants  his  mother  一  when  his 
mother  wants  to  eat  some  cheap  cake  ―  then  ( he 
says)  "there  is  no  idle  money  to  mend  willow 
spoons"  一  when  his  wife  wants  to  eat  pears  ―  then 
he  gets  ready  his  ass  ―  and  goes  to  the  market  ― 
when  he  has  bought  the  pears  一  he  peels  them  一 
and  asks  wife,  wife,  will  you  eat  pears  ？ 


LXI 


活一對 雙棒兒 


子裏 又有咧 
NOTES 

These  words  are  addressed  by  one  boy  to  another 


兒兒養 了咧肚 

秀樣媽 大走媽 

小長你 多會你 


— 94  — 


in  a  joking  way.  小 秀 兒 hsiao^  t'u'  ，r，  the  small 
baldhead,  the  boy,  used  here  instead  of  the  personal 
pronoun  "you".  長樣兒 change  yang^  ，r，  he  is  grown 
up,  lit.  "  his  figure  has  grown  ".  養活 yang'  huo?，  to 
bear  of  women  ；  it  means  also  to  nourish,  to  give 
food.  雙棒兒 shuang'  pang''  ，r，  twins,  in  literary 
language  they  are  called 雙生 shuang' sheng'. 

TRANSLATION 
You  small  bald-heads  ―  are  grown  up  ―  your 
mother  has  born  a  couple  of  twins  ―  how  old  are 
they  ？  一  "they  can  walk "  ―  "your  mother  is 
again  in  the  family  way". 

LXII 

線 兒 

媽 裤 腿帶兒 
NOTES 

These  words  are  for  young  girls  who  want  to 
begin  to  work  early  with  needle  and  thread.  花 紅 
hua'  hung',  as  red  as  red  flowers  are.  柳 緑 liou?'  lii's 
as  green  as  willow-trees  are  ，靡 /j 退 帶 兒 k'u^  t'ueP 
taii  ，r，  cloth  bands  used  by  women  to  bind  the  trowsers 
to  their  ankles. 


緑 兒兒媽 

柳 針線王 

紅 買買買 

花 IK 又叉 


一  93  — 


TRANSLATION 

I  want  red  thread  as  red  as  red  flowers  and 
green  thread  as  green  as  green  willows  ―  and  I 
want  to  buy  needles  ―  and  to  buy  more  thread  ― 
and  to  buy  ankle-bands  for  mother  Wang. 


LXIII 


來吃 狗肉" E 

NOTES 

Dog  meat  is  a  much  appreciated  dish  in  China. 
The  character 糊 hu-,  is  used  here  in  want  of 
another,  and  is  pronounced  hu'，  in  the  first  tone.  It 
means  a  special  Chinese  way  of  preparing  meat,  by 
smearing  it  with  sauce  and  then  having  it  roasted 
in  a  pan.  There  is  in  the  western  city  a  restaurant 
called  狗 肉 居 kou3  jou*  chiii,  where  roasted  dog 
meat  is  provided  for  "  amateurs",  p 區 ou's  phonetic 
character  with  no  meaning  here. 

TRANSLATION 
Roast,  roast  一  roast  dog  meat,  oh  ！  ―  the  first 


嘔 香臭媽 

. 肉裏裏 媽， 

糊狗 鍋鍋王 

糊糊 大二請 


一  96  一 

pan  smells  ―  and  the  second  pan  stinks  ―  I  beg 
mother  Wang  to  come  and  eat  dog  meat,  oh  ！ 


LXIV 


尙 無頭髪 


的禿 光把兒 

NOTES 

Chinese  boys  do  not  show  much  reverence 
towards  the  priests,  for  whom  they  always  have  a 
ready  collection  of  songs,  epigrams  and  epithets. 
One  of  the  general  names  with  which  Buddhist 
priests  are  gratified  is 秀 驢 t'u'  lu-,  a  bald  ass, 
鍾 ch'a',  small  cymbals  used  as  toys  ；  there  is  no 
character  for  the  word  and  I  used,  in  fault  of  better, 
this  character  ；  its  original  tone  however  is  the  first. 
As  these  cymbals  are  very  bright  and  shining,  the 
pates  of  bonzes  are  likened  to  them.  秀 光把兒 
t，u'  kuangi  pan^  'r,  a  bald  and  shining  pate. 

TRANSLATION 
Bald  bald  cymbals  一  shining,  shining  cyrrfbals 


和 a 兒尙 

鍤 鯆的磚 K 和 

禿光裏 摄撂打 

秀光廟 你我單 


一  97  — 


the  bonzes  in  the  temple  have  no  hair  一  you  fling 
bricks  and  I  fling  tiles  一  only  to  strike  the  bonzes' 
bald  pates. 


NOTES 

Coal  dust  is  mixed  up  with  sand  and  water  and 
then  put  into  small  wood  square  boxes,  out  of  which 
the  coal  comes  in  the  form  of  a  small  brick.  This 
sort  of  coal  is  called 煤鎌兒 mei"  chien^  ，r.  When 
Pekinese  boys  are  so  lucky  as  to  get  hold  of  one  of 
those  wood-boxes  called 煤模兒 mei-  mu-  ，r，  they 
put  inside  of  it  all  their  small  property,  as  toys,  or 
food.  @ 兒， kui  kill  till'  ，r，  seeds  of  dates. 

TRANSLATION 

(In)  the  coal-mould  一  ( there  are)  roast  beans 
一  small  pears  ―  and  date  seeds. 


LXVI 

Y 頭 

會看家 


LXV 

杜梨子 
咕 IS 兒 


兒兒 

模豆 

媒炒 


― 98  一 


頭叫 姥姥  • 

NOTES 

袖 燈 蜜 iu-  cha-  mi'\  sort  of  sweet  cake  made  of 
flower,  sugar  and  honey,  and  then  fried  in  oil.  康兒 
職 tsao3  ，r  kao,  pudding  of  date  jam.  火 燒 huo^  shao', 
"roasted  on  the  fire"  name  of  a  cake.  撑 的 ch'eng' 
ti，  with  a  full  stomach  from  having  eaten  too  much. 

TRANSLATION 

The  small  girl  ―  knows  how  to  watch  the 
house  ―  she  steals  old  rice  ―  and  barters  it  for 
sesamum  seeds ―  the  sesamum  seeds  are  small  ― 
(and  then)  a  sweet  cake  ―  a  date-pudding ― and  a 
roasted  cake  ―  the  small  girl  feels  so  overeaten  that 
she  calls  for  her  grandmother. 


Lxvn 

玲瓏塔 
'塔 玲瓏 


米 麻細蜜 糕燒丫 

老 芝藤煃 兒火的 

偷 換芝袖 康熱撐 


— 99  — 


NOTES 

玲 聰 ling"  lung-,  elegant,  pleasant,  smart.  老 
僧 lao3  seng',  an  old  buddhist  priest.  ~)j 丈 fang'  chang', 
the  abbot  in  a  buddhist  monastery.  徒 弟 t'u-  U''， 
pupils  who  are  supposed  to  learn  the  law  and  read 
the  sacred  books  to  become  priests  afterwards.  靑 
頭 傍 ch'ing'  t'ou-  leng's  expression  impossible  to 
translate  ；  it  is  applied  by  Chinese  in  a  despising 
sense  to  different  objects,  as  for  instance  to  an 


層  法輕 

三  愣靑 黥僧把 奔磬笙 昝 鐘說念 

十廟 儈丈名 頭頭僧 黠蘆蘆 打棒吹 撞會會 

塔 座老方 六 靑愣僧 黠葫葫 會會會 會把奔 

寶有有 當有叫 3 '是 是奔把 愣靑黠 僧蘆蘆 

玲前 內僧弟 個個個 個個個 頭頭僧 黠葫莉 

玲塔 廟老徒 一一一  一  一  一 靑楞僧 奔把 


― 100  — 


unripe  fruit,  or  to  a  scorpion.  磐 ch'ing''  a  musical 
stone  used  as  a  bell.  组 sheng',  a  sort  of  pipe.  棒 
^  p，eng3  sheng',  to  hold  the  sheng  near  the  mouth  by 
the  two  hands,  that  is  to  say,  to  play  the  sheng. 
管 kuan?',  a  flute.  撞 鐘 chuang^  chung',  to  strike  the 
bell  ；  Chinese  bells  are  not  provided  with  a  clapper, 
but  are  struck  from  outside  by  means  of  a  wood 
truncheon  hanging  by  cords  at  a  small  distance 
from  the  bell.  説 法 shuo'  fa'',  to  speak  about  the 
law,  to  recite  a  pious  sermon. 

TRANSLATION 
How  elegant  is  the  pagoda  ！  ―  how  the  pagoda 
is  elegant  ！  一  the  elegant  pagoda  has  thirteen  stores 
― before  the  pagoda  there  is  a  temple  ―  in  the 
temple  there  is  an  old  bonze  ―  the  old  bonze  acts 
as  abbot  ―  and  has  by  himself  six  pupils  ―  one  is 
called  ―  Ch'ing'  t'ou^  leng^.  ―  one  is  called  Leng^  t'ou' 
ch'ing'  ―  one  is  Seng'  seng'  tien^  ―  one  is  Tien"  tien^  seng' 
― one  is  P'en'-huMu'-pa^  ―  one  is  Pa'*-hu--lu--p3ni  ― 
Ch，ing2  t'ou2  leng^  can  strike  the  musical  stone  一  Leng'* 
t'ou'  ch'ing*  can  play  the  pipe  一  Seng'-seng'-tien^  can 
play  the  flute  ―  Tien^  tien-'.  seng'  can  strike  the  bell 
― Pen'-huMu?-pa4  can  recite  a  sermon  ―  and  Pa^-hu-- 
lu-pen'  can  read  the  sacred  books. 


LXVIII 


維 雞 《« 

m 馬 城 


― 101  ― 


馬城開 

丫 頭小子 送馬來 

NOTES         ： -  ，； 

The  military  officers  in  the  preceding  dynasties 
used  to  wear  on  their  hats  feathers  of  the  ringed 
pheasant  ( Phasianus  torquatus )  called  维雞负 1 
chih^  chi'  ling'.  The  boys  of  the  present  day  like  to  ape 
these  old  fashions  and  stick  on  their  hats  some  cock 
feathers,  which  they  suppose  to  be  those  of  the 
pheasant.  Then  some  of  them  have  a  pasteboard 
horse's  head,  and  horse's  rump  ；  the  first  they  tie 
to  the  stomach,  the  other  to  the  back,  and  their 
infantile  imagination  is  quite  satisfied,  as  they  gallop 
here  and  there  singing  these  verses  the  meaning 
of  which  is  very  doubtful.  The  pasteboard  horse 
has  inside  a  frame  of  bamboo  sticks  and  is  called 
竹 馬 chu-  ma^ 

TRANSLATION 

With  ringed  pheasant  feathers  一  I  gallop  to 
the  horse  city  ―  the  city  opens  the  gate  ―  and 
girls  and  boys  come  out  leading  a  horse  for  me. 


LXIX 

籃靛廠 
四 角兒方 


一  102  一 


NOTES 

This  song  has  no  other  aim  then  that  of 
collecting  names  of  places  in  Peking  and  near 
Peking.  藍餘廠 Ian-  tien''  ch'ang"'  the  indigo  factory, 
name  of  a  place  near  Ta-chung-ssu  ；  the  ground  is 
now  occupied  by  military  quarters  for  bannermen. 
宮 門 口  kungi  men?  k'ou\  is  the  name  of  a  street  near 
the  Fing-tse-men.  六那莊 liu'  lang^  chuang'  "the  Liou^ 
lang^'s"  farm.  A  place  to  the  South  of  Yiian- ■ming--yiian''. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Kung'  men-  k'ou^  street  and  this 
farm  cannot  face  one  another  because  the  street  is 
inside  of  the  city  and  the  farm  is  in  the  Hai  '-tien'-.  羅 
鍋 橘 luo、）  kuo'  ch'iao-,  the  hunchbacked  bridge  in 
Yuan--ming--yuan-  ( see  song  34).  番山 hsiang<  shan< 
"perfumed  mountains "  hills  near  Peking.  跑 
p，ao:i  ma3，  the  place  in  which  military  men  train 
themselves  to  shoot  arrows  whilst  galloping  on 
horseback.  金 山 chin'  shan',  gold  mountain,  name 
of  another  hill  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Peking.  萬 
壽 山 uan''  shoa''  shan",  a  favourite  imperial  villa  on  a 
hill  near  Peking.  It  was  once  permissible  to  visit 
the  grounds  but  now  foreigners  are  no  longer 
admitted.    求 雨 cb'iu-  yii"  to  pray  for  rain,  as  the 


莊高 

s 麼 . 

六那 鬧山潭 

着麽 熟壽龍 

對怎 好萬黑 

緊撟 馬山雨 

口兒 跑銀求 

門鍋； 3, 山上 

宮 羅，， 脊 ，^ 皇 


一  103  ― 

Emperor  in  time  of  drought  dees  himself  or  by 
deputy,  according  to  the  gravity  of  the  situation. 
黑 龍 潭 he"  hingU'ani,  a  temple  near  Peking,  so 
called  because  in  its  grounds  there  is  a  pool  where 
a  black  dragon  is  supposed  to  live.  The  Temple 
is  a  Government  one  and  in  time  of  drought  imperial 
kins  are  sent  there  to  pray  for  rain.  In  this  small 
song  there  is  no  syntaxis  ；  the  names  are  huddled 
together  without  distinction  or  explanation.  The 
last  phrase  in  order  to  express  correctly  the  sense, 
ought  to  say  in  the  simplest  form 皇上 爲求 雨遣官 
到 黑 龍潭 huang-  shang''  wei^  ch'iu-  yii^  ch'ien''  kuan'  tao''  bei> 
lung-t'an' .  The  Chinese  original  phrase  could  however 
be  translated  "  and  the  temple  of  Hei-lung-t'an  where 
the  Emperor  (goes  to  pray  for  rain  or)  sends 
people  to  pray  for  rain".  As  a  matter  of  fact  from 
Ch'ien-  lung'  till  now  no  Emporor  has  gone  there  in 
person  to  pray  for  rain.  He  prays  now  for  it  in  the 
大高殿 ta*  kao'  lien's  the  very  high  hall,  in  the 
interior  of  the  Palace. 


LXX 

背了鼓 來！^ 

NOTES 

When  a  storm  is  coming  cn  with  wind,  rain 


略^ 尙 

來來和 

風雨老 


一  m  ― 

and  thunders  Pekinese  boys  say  these  words.  The 
thunder  is  supposed  to  be  produced  by  the  striking 
of  a  big  drum  like  those  which  the  wandering 
priests  take  round  with  them. 

TRANSLATION 

The  wind  has  come  ―  the  rain  has  come  ―  the 
old  priest  with  the  drum  on  his  back  has  come. 


LXXI 


莉 蘆兒上 
NOTES 

~ ■ 顆萬 i'  k，o'  hao',  a  stem  of  artemisia.  This 蓄 
is  for 香萬 hsiang'  hao'.  秀子 t'u'-tzu,  small  boys,  as 
explained  before.  耍 刀 shua^  tao'，  to  fence,  to  play 
with  swords.  兩 扇 two  gourd  ladles-a  gourd 
cut  in  the  middle  forms  two  ladles,  used  by  poor 
people  to  put  the  rice  in.  The  vulgar  numeral  is 
not 扇 but 個 ko''. 

TRANSLATION 

On  a  very  high  mountain  there  is  a  stem  of 
Artemisia  ―  two  boys  fence  with  swords  ―  the  two 


蒿 刀在瓢 

顆 耍落扇 

一去 兩 

上 子尖蘆 

山 秀刀莉 

高 個把個 

高兩兩 一 


一  lOo  - 


sword  points  fell  on  a  calabash  一  and  from  a 
calabash  were  made  two  ladles. 


LXXII 


個奶 奶兒來 

愛 喝 
兒 治 

個 拙老婆 
NOTES 

The  first  two  verses  are  the  ordinary  t'ou--tzu 
without  any  reference  to  what  follows.  香爐兒 
hsiang'  lu-  ，r，  a  metal  or  clay  vessel  to  burn  incense 
before  the  Gods  ；  it  means  literally  perfume-stove. 
瓦燈臺 ua3  teagi  t'ai-,  a  sort  of  earthenware  oil- 
lamp  used  in  very  poor  houses.  氣 的 ch'i'-ti,  he  is 
so  irritated.  ^  tuo'  sua',  to  tremble,  to  shake 
with  anger.  • 

TRANSLATION 
An  incense-stove  and  an  earthenware  lamp  一 


了  竟法嗦 這 

娶  懶沒^ 你 

臺 兒頭活 手 兒竟打 

爐燈爺 梳作證 爺的我 

香 K 爺不 不嘴 爺氣說 


― 106  ― 


the  gentleman  has  married  a  lady  ―  who  does  not 
comb  her  hair  ―  does  not  work  ―  is  gluttonous 
and  lazy  and  likes  nothing  but  drinking  ―  the 
husband  has  no  way  of  correcting  her  ―  and  is  so 
angry  that  he  trembles  ―  and  says  :  I  will  beat  you 
stupid  old  woman  ！ 


LXXIII 

/j  、妞 M  錐 幫子兒 

坐椅子]^^  S 力 底子兒 

NOTES 

Girls  in  poor  families  make  their  own  shoes. 
雜驚子 chuii  pang'  tzii,  to  bore  with  an  awl  holes 
into  the  cloth  for  binding  it  to  the  sole.  钢底子 
na'i  tP-tzti，  to  beat  the  sole  to  harden  it.  The  sole  is 
made  of  felt. 

TRANSLATION 
The  little  girl  ―  is  sitting  on  the  chair  ―  bores 
the  sides  of  the  shoe — and  beats  the  sole  of  the  shos. 


LXXIV 


爺爺 抱孫子 
坐在波 接蓋兒 


一  107  一 

醋蒜兒  ' 
兒 

三 嘴巴兒 
NOTES 

藤 Chan's  to  dip  in,  said  of  a  brush  in  the  ink,  or 
of  meat  In  the  sauce.  醋蒜兒 ts'u^  suan<  ，r，  sort  of 
sauce  made  of  vinegar  and  bits  of  garlic.  撒婿 
兒 sa'  chiao'  ，r，  to  gambol,  to  tease,  said  of  spoilt 
children.    嘴 巴 tsueP  pa',  a  blow  in  the  face. 

TRANSLATION 

The  grandfather  embraces  his  grandson  ―  who 
sits  on  his  knees ― (the  grandfather  says )  here 
are  meat-balls  to  dip  in  vinegar  sauce  ―  when  you 
have  finished  eating  you  will  be  saucy  ―  and  will 
come  over  to  hit  your  grandfather  three  blows  in 
the  face. 


LXXV 


酷攝爺 

子撒你 

包了打 

i 來 

羊吃過 


哭 

兒 

0  買脚 

兒 糖兒小 

脚，； 2:- 錢着 

小 愛沒搬 


― 108  ― 


NOTES 

搬 脚 pan'  chiao",  to  sit  down  with  crossed  legs 
holding  the  feet  in  the  hands.  Children  often  sit 
so  when  disappointed  and  weeping. 

TRANSLATION. 

The  little  lady  with  the  small  feet  ―  likes  to 
eat  sugar  ―  but  has  no  money  to  buy  it  ―  and  sits 
crosslegged  and  weeps  for  a  good  while. 


LXXVI 


毬 

潦裳裳  子子 

樓 頭髻樓 子 板板坐 磨娃娃 

座 梳龍花 獅 金銀的 疆金銀 

一 去盤 赛梳個 是是沒 一 個個 

上娘的 的的了 的的姐 在着着 

山姑梳 梳沒梳 坐坐三 坐抱抱 

高個姐 姐姐梳 姐姐下 坐姐姐 

高兩大 二 三 一 大二剩 一 大二 


― 109  一 


三姐 沒得抱 
一抱抱 着個樹 溘 权 

NOTES 

盤龍譽 p'an-  lung'  chi'',  sort  of  women's  head 
dress ；  literally  coiled  dragon  chignon.  赛花樓 
sai'  hua'  loa-,  another  sort  of  head  dress  very  high 
and  adorned  with  flowers  ；  it  means  literally  "tower 
which  emulate  the  flowers".  :} 師 子滚織 ®  shihi 
tzj  kun?'  hsiou'i  ch'iu^  "a  lion  who  rolls  an  embroidered 
ball,'  sort  of  amusement  in  the  fairs.  Two  men 
dress  themselves  as  lions  and  then  fight,  in  the  same 
time  pushing  with  the  feet  a  large  embroidered 
ball.  Here  the  phrase  is  used  in  the  meaning  of 
" confused,  not  well  done,  ruffled".  —  磨 i'  P'an'^ 
muo\  a  mill-stone. 

TRANSLATION 

On  a  very  high  mountain  there  is  a  high  tower ― 
two  girls  go  there  to  comb  their  hair  ―  the  eldest 
sister  combs  her  hair  into  a  "coiled  dragon  chignon" 
一  The  second  sister  combs  her  hair  into  a 
"rivalling  flowers  tower  chignon "  ―  the  third 
sister  has  no  other  way  of  combing  her  hair  ―  and 
combs  it  in  a  ruffled  way  ―  the  first  sister  sits  on 
a  golden  stool  ―  the  second  sister  sits  on  a  silver 
stool  ―  there  remains  the  third  sister  who  has  no 
room  to  sit  ―  and  sits  on  a  stone-mill  ―  the  first 
sister  folds  in  her  arms  a  golden  baby  一  the  second 


― 110  一 

sister  folds  in  her  arms  a  silver  baby  ―  the  third 
sister  has  nothing  to  fold  in  the  arms  ―  and  folds  a 
forked  branch. 


LXXVII 


兒 
兒 

NOTES 

Pekinese  boys  address  these  words  to  camels, 
which  are  well  tempered  enough  not  to  take  any 
notice  of  them.  嚷暖 so'so',  signal  given  to  the 
camels  to  make  them  kneel  down,  to  receive  the 
load  on  their  back.  The  word  is  probably  derived 
from  the  word  sok  used  by  Mongol  camel  drivers. 
The  same  word  is  however  used  to  call  a  dog  to 
come.  拜 拜 pai'  pai、  to  salute  as  women  do  ；  here 
the  words  refer  to  the  awkward  movement  of  the 
camels  when  kneeling  down.  袖鼻兒 ch'ou'  pi-  ，r， 
to  sniff,  as  camels  use  to  do.  小 姨 兒 hsiao^  i-  ，r， 
a  man's  wife's  younger  sister. 


噻哥拜 太鼻姨 

S5 哥拜 太柚小 

K '你稱 你驟你 

® 是© 是駢是 

它 |> 它  1> 它 

© 王駢 王駢王 


一  111  ― 


TRANSLATION 

Camel,  camel,  kneel  down  ―  a  turtle  is  your 
older  brother  ―  camel,  camel,  make  a  salute  ―  a 
turtle  is  your  wife  ―  camel,  camel,  sniff  ―  a  turtle 
is  your  sister-in-law. 


LXXVIII 


兒 開黄花 


裏有 小孩兒 


裏 又有了 
NOTES 

Two  things  are  to  be  observed  in  the  first  two 
verses.  Apparently  there  is  nothing  wrong  in  them 
but  it  is  quite  the  contrary.  Ladies  generally  avoid 
pronouncing  in  succession  the  numbers  seven  ch，i' 
and  eight  pa',  because,  these  two  syllabes  put 
together,  give  a  sound  very  similar  to  that  of  an 


脚 兒兒子  子 

七八小 fflffl 肚 了了肚 

媽媽媽 一 1 媽 大走媽 

你我你 左右你 多曾你 


一  112  一 

equivocal  word  largely  spoken  by  Chinamen.  Now 
in  this  case  the  two  syllabes  are  separated  but  no 
Chinese  will  fail  to  understand  the  meaning  of  it,  so 
much  more  that  translating  the  numerals  simply  as 
they  are,  would  convey  no  meaning  in  the  two  first 
verses.  Again-the  word 八 that  is  to  say  the 
number  eight,  has  been  chosen  by  Chinese  to  mean 
what  in  higher  style  would  be  called 玉 門 yii*  men'. 
Therefore  the  meaning  of  the  second  verse  cannot 
be  an  edifying  one.  開 黄花， k，ai'  huang'^  hua',  "to 
open  yellow  flowers"  it  seems  that  in  Pekinese 
slang  a  "yellow  flower  foot"  means  a  small  foot. 
^兒 i'  P，an2  ，r，  a  tour,  a  walk. 

TRANSLATION 

Your  mother  "seven" ―  your  mother  "eight" ― 
your  mother  has  small  feet  ―  a  tour  to  the  left  一 
and  a  tour  to  the  right  ―  your  mother  is  in  a  family- 
way  一  "how  old  is  the  baby"?  ―  "he  can  walk" 
一  your  mother  is  again  in  a  family  way. 


LXXIX 


鞭 

草覉 

丹兒頓 

牡梭 一 

喚三了 

尖圓 兒拿挨 

兒兒 花手開 

葉葉 開掌花 

樹花 子人氣 

桃荷 栀仙淑 


— 113  — 


NOTES 

仙人掌 hsien'  jen?  chang,  a  cactus,  (  Opiintia 
Dillenii ).  三樣草 san，  leng?  ts,ao3,  lit.  "grass  with 
three  edges"  a  three-cornered  sedge  (Cyperus).  淑 
氣 花 shu-  ch'i;  hua', called  in  vulgar  language 蜀 角 
shou?  chiao^  (the  original  pronunciation  and  tones 
ought  to  be  shu:' cMao"",  the  hollyhock  (lat.  Althcea 
rosea ).  霸王鞭 pa*  uang-  pien',  tyrant's  whip,  a  sort 
of  cactus,  called  so  because  of  its  resemblance  to 
an  iron  whip  property  of  a  king  of  the  Ch'u 楚 
kingdom,  renowned  for  his  bodily  strength,  named 
項 羽 Hsiang''  yu-'.  In  the  last  verse  the  phrase  has 
a  double  meaning  as 校 一 頓鞭 ai*  i'  tun''  pien', 
means  to  receive  a  number  of  whip  blows. 

TRANSLATION 

The  peach  tree  leaves  are  pointed  一  the  lotus 
leaves  are  round  ―  the  gardenia  opens  its  flowers 
and  calls  the  peony  tree  flower  一  the  cactus  (the 
wise  man's  palm )  holds  in  its  hands  the  three 
cornered  sedge  ―  the  hollyhock  flower  opens  and 
receives  a  good  many  blows  from  the  "tyrant's 
whip  "\ 


LXXX 

小 小 子 兒 

拿 倒錘兒 

8 


一  m  — 


NOTES 

拿 倒 na- tao'',  to  hold  a  thing  just  in  the  opposite 
way  form  that  in  which  it  ought  to  be  held,  for 
instance  taking  a  sword  by  the  point.  鍾 ch'ui-, 
a  toy  for  boys  which  imitates  an  ancient  weapon  to 
be  seen  now  only  on  the  theatres,  it  is  formed  of  a 
large  ball  of  iron  to  which  is  attached  a  handle,  and 
can  be  compared  to  our  mace  used  in  the  middle 
ages.  怯屋子 ch'ie''  wu'  tzu,  a  common,  plain  room, 
as  of  labourers  in  the  fields.  八 仙掉子 pa'  hsien» 
chuo'  tza,  a  table  for  eight  persons. 、漆 椅子 ch'i*  i:;  tzu. 


兒兒  兒 

門子  人兒 

扇椅兒  景  道席了 

雨漆子  名 茶兒兒 個素飽 

子兒搭  有迪 仁子 是擺吃 

屋子脚 兒茱 嫩蠛鴨 娘席娘  兒兒 

怯踔着 壺子兒 燒大 華大台 戲扇子 

開仙 $^一 滿 嵐樣根 大猪上 下聲南 大蕉蚊 

開 A 足水 洗四嫩 八燒天 撒叫上 聽芭打 


lacquered  chairs.  脚搭子 chiaos  ta<  tzu,  a  small 
four-legged  stool  to  lay  the  feet  on.  窟子 ts'uan''  tzu, 
very  vulgar  name  for  a  kettle.  名 景 ming-  ching\ 
fame,  renown.  嫩根 兒 nen' ken''r，  with  delicate 
stems.  韭 菜 chioif'  ts'ai ；，  leeks.  八 大 pa<  ta<  instead 
of 八大碗 【'a'  ta'  wan',  the  eight  entries  in  a  good 
Chinese  dinner.  The  verse  is  very  laconic,  瑕 
仁 兒 huei'  hsia''  jen-'r,  shrimp  pulp  with  sauce,  大 上 
大 娘 t'ien'  shang'  ta-  niang-',  a  fairy  in  heaven,  but  here 
very  probably  a  term  of  flattery  for  a  nun.  道人 
兒 tao'«  jen-'r,  said  also  in  relation  to  above,  a  person 
who  has  reached  the  perfection  of  reason,  a  holy 
person.  軍 席 hun'  hsi-,  a  dinner  comprising  meat 
and  food,  which  persons  in  monastic  life  should  abs- 
tain from  eating.  南 台 nan?  t'ai-,  the  theatre  placed 
on  the  Southern  side.  蒲 pa'  chiao'，  palm  tree, 
打跌子 ta:i  uen--tzd,  to  drive  away  the  sandflies. 

TRANSLATION 

The  small  boy  一  holding  the  mace  by  the  head 
一  opens  the  two  leaves  of  the  door  of  the  plain 
room  一  ( inside  there  are )  one  table  for  eight  people 
and  varnished  chairs  ―  he  leans  his  feet  on  a  small 
footstool  ―  the  tea  pot  is  overfilled  with  water  ― 
and  washes  the  kettle  ―  four  sorts  of  food  are  there 
spread  out  一  delicate  leeks  with  delicate  stems  ― 
and  eight  plates  with  sauced  shrimp  pulp  ―  pork 
with  sauce  and  roasted  duck  ―  ( the  nun )  like  the 
great  lady  in  heaven  is  a  holy  person  ―  and  she 
has  the  common  food  removed  and  vegetable  food 


— 116  - 


prepared  一  people  call  out :  the  great  lady  has 
eaten  to  fullness  ―  and  goes  to  the  Southern  stage 
~~ -  to  see  the  play  ―  and  with  a  palm-leaf  fan  ― 
strikes  away  the  mosquitoes. 


LXXXI 


m 
的 


NOTES 

吉了兒 chi?  liao^'r,  the  cicada,  correctly  written 
鯽療兒 •  怎的 tsen:'  ti,  antiquated  form  for 怎 麼 
着 tsem'  mo  cho,  how  ？  why  ？  吃 蘇 ch'ih'  ma-,  to  eat 
hemp,  a  curious  way  of  letting  thirst  pass  away. 

TRANSLATION 

On  a  very  high  mountain  there  is  a  stem  of 
hemp  —  there  is  a  cicada  who  creeps  on  it  ―  I  ask 
the  cicada,  why  do  you  creep  on  ？  一  and  she  says : 
I  am  thirsty  and  want  to  eat  hemp. 


LXXXII 

好 熱天兒 
掛 竹簾兒 


蔴 上怎藤 

顆 往爬呓 

一 兒兒要 

上 了了了 

山吉 吉渴 

高 個問說 

高 有我他 


— 117  — 


NOTES 

"？^ 膀 52  ii\  uai'  puo-'r  shu's  "trees  with  a  crooked 
heck"  crooked  trees.  大 紅 ta'*  hung',  deep  red. 
沿邊兒 yen- pien'Y,  coloured  border  of  ladies  dresses. 
袖 頭 iu?  t'ou-  a  hairdress  combed  with  odorous  oil. 
別 pie-,  there  is  no  particular  character  for  the 
meaning;  it  means  to  wear  pins  in  the  hair  as 
women  do.    花 藍 hua'  lan-'r,  a  flower  basket. 

TRANSLATION  、 

What  a  hot  day  ―  set  up  the  bamboo  curtain  ！ 
一  under  the  crooked  trees ― there  is  a  small  girl 
who  plays  and  jests  with  me  ―  she  wears  a  deep 
red  waistcoat  ―  without  coloured  border  ―  she 
has  combed  her  hair  with  oil  ―  and  has  stuck  jade 
pins  into  her  hair  ―  in  the  left  hand  she  holds  a 
flower  basket  ―  and  in  the  right  hand  she  holds 
gardenias,  jasmine  and  wild  lotus  flowers. 


兒 

枝 

兒  串 

頌肩  莉 

我坎  籃茉 

下着紅  花子 

底 哄大兒  玉梔 

樹 兜件邊 兒着着 

兒扭 一 沿頭 簪拿拿 

脖個 着有油 玉手手 

歪有 穿沒梳 別左右 


—  118  — 


LXXXIII 

蛋 5a 

來 我是哥 
兒 © 們 倆人喝 

打鼓再 娶一個 

NOTES 

The  beginning  of  this  song  is  nasty  but  I  could 
not  cut  it  off  the  song.  羊巴 巴蛋兒 yang-  pa^  pa^ 
tan'T,  goat  dung  ―  打 |g 酒 52  ta^  hu?  chiou^  to  go  to 
buy  a  bottle  of  wine.  鼻 兒  pi'r,  the  mouth  of  a 
flute,  therefore 吹鼻兒 ch'ui"  pi"r,  means  to  play 
the  flute  or  other  wind  instrument.  This  phrase 
alludes  to  the  band  of  players  which  accompanies 
the  chair  of  a  bride. 

TRANSLATION 

Goat's  dung  ―  crushed  by  the  foot  ―  you  are 
my  second  brother  and  I  am  your  first  brother  一 
go  and  buy  a  bottle  of  wine  ；  we  will  both  drink  it 
一  when  I  am  drunk  ―  I  will  beat  my  wife  一  and 
then  with  flute-players  and  drummers  I  will  marry 
another. 


巴 撮兄酒 了婆兒 

巴 脚是壺 醉老鼻 

羊用你 打暍打 


— m  — 


LXXXIV 


rrJ 

號 

吹 兒 

哇 少吊  兒 

兒  兒年兩  廟 

廟兒  S.I 春蠻  了  小惱 

小道  兒 哇靑元  逮  的好兒 兒兒兒 

個神  轔 兒個張  還兒 你心 票少少 

有 個兒兒 兒兒抬 囉一千 兒兒抱  燒聽發 年年冒 

上 着蜎罩 套要鬼 鬼了溜  抱抱懐 兒閜^ 春春 ® 

山住草 藍皮草 小小來 提兒馕 懐我火 花兒小 靑靑. S 

高頭 戴穿穿 爾個個 南裏廟 個我給 把兒道 聲拿的 ® 

高裏頭 身腿腰 四雨解 手進求 鈴不船  > "灰 神^ 快嚇^ 


NOTES 

罩 兒 chao'',r，  very  thin  overcoat  which  the  Chinese 


一  120  一 


wear  over  their  clothes.  蔡要 51  ts，ao。'  yao^'r,  sort  of 
rope  made  of  dry  grass  to  bind  vegetables  together, 
and  in  this  case  as  a  girdle.  温兒娃 weur'  wa', 
imitates  the  sound  of  the  trumpet.  吹 號 for 吹 號 
筒 ch'ui'  hao''  t'ung^  to  blow  the  trumpet,  ff 春 
ch'ingi  ch'un,  the  pure  spring,  the  flower  of  life,  youth. 
千 張 ch'ien'  chang',  a  paper  ladder  burned  in  ceremo- 
nies in  order  to  give  the  spirits  a  way  to  ascend  to 
heaven.  元蠻雨 jfj  yiian^  pao''  liang^  tiao's  two  strings 
of  paper  money,  resembling  the  silver  yuan-pao, 
which  the  Chinese  burn  for  their  dead  and  in  other 
offerings.  懷抱兒 huaP  paa''"r,  something  to  carry 
in  the  bosom,  a  child.  ~~  JgJ 火 i'  pa''  hno\  a  bundle 
of  combustible  matter  for  obtaining  a  fire.  灰 兒 
花 兒 hui''r  hua'  'r,  wants  to  imitate  the  noise  of  a 
conflagration.  發 票 fa<  pW'，  to  issue  a  warrant  to 
arrest  a  man.  胃泡兒 隨'' p,ao''，r，  to  gasp  and  let 
air  out  of  the  mouth  as  fish  does  when  just  taken 
out  of  the  water  ；  that  is  said  to  show  the  agonizing 
fear  of  the  young  girl.  pgf  P^' 卿 ku'  ta'  ku'  to', 
imitates  the  gurgling  round  of  the  air  gasping  out 
of  the  throat. 

TRANSLATION 
On  a  very  high  mountain  一  there  is  a  small 
temple  ―  inside  is  sitting  a  holy  man  ―  who  wears 
on  his  head  a  dry  grass  hat  ―  and  on  his  body  an 
azure  cloak  ―  and  on  his  legs  skin  leggings  ―  and 
round  his  waist  a  grass  rope  for  girdle  ―  four  small 
devils  bear  the  chair  —  two  small  devils  blow  the 


- 121  一 


trumpet  ―  from  the  South  has  come  a  young  girl  in 
the  bloom  of  life  ―  who  has  in  her  hands  a  paper 
ladder  and  paper  money  ―  she  enters  the  temple  ― 
to  pray  for  a  child  ―  (she  says : )  give  me  a  child 
and  it  shall  be  all  right  ―  if  you  do  not  give  me  a 
child  ―  I  will  make  a  fire  ―  and  burn  your  small 
temple  一  the  holy  man  hearing  this  is  very  much 
angry  ―  and  calls  for  the  small  devils  to  issue  a 
warrant  of  arrest  ―  ( saying)  quickly  apprehend 
this  young  woman  in  the  bloom  of  life,  ―  but  the 
young  woman  in  the  bloom  of  life  is  so  scared  that 
she  gasps  for  breath. 


LXXXV 


紅石榴 


NOTES 

端 cb'uai,  means  to  feel,  to  grope,  and  also  to  hide 
in  the  bosom,  as  Chinese  do  because  of  their  not 
having  pockets.  袖 hsiou'',  a  sleeve,  and  also,  to 
place  in  the  sleeve  ^.|J 禾 Ij  :f_^  li'  ir'  la'  la'  —  without 
interruption-without  end.  ~ • 大 溜 i'  ta''  liu'*,  a  great 
row  a  great  number  of. 


羞舅 一  溜 

害 f 我  大 

不的給  一 

兒花舅 

g 賣舅 榀釉拉 

@ 着舅 裏裏利 

有昝舅 懷釉利 


― 122  ― 

TRANSLATION 
There  is  a  small  girl  who  does  not  feel  ashamed 
― and  calls  the  flower  seller  her  own  uncle  ―  uncle, 
uncle  give  me  a  flower  of  the  red  pomegranate  ― 
I  will  put  it  in  my  bosom  ―  I  will  put  it  in  my  sleeve 
― and  all  the  ground  shall  be  strown  with  flowers. 


LXXXVI 

高 


燒 


NOTES 

The  Chinese  are  accustomed  to  burn  incense  on 
the  first  and  fifteenth  of  a  month. 爲長毛 uei"  chang'* 
mao-,  to  make  the  hair  grow.  掛 袍 kua'  p'ao',  "  to 
put  on  Buddha's  body  a  jacket".  Some  people  who 
want  to  get  a  favour  from  the  Divinity,  to  soothe 


姓燒 女毛上  了 火怒瓢 

本香 兒長長  掉 架冲開 

兒把 爲爲毛  毛 爺冲就 

秀五 香香天  天 老見刀 

小十燒 燒三香 袍三了  一 大 

個 一 家子了 燒掛了 倒爺起 

有初 人秀到 iKiK 到 搬老拿 


一  123  一 


him,  buy  a  silk  or  satin  jacket  which  they  themselves 
put  on  his  body.  搬倒了  pan'  tao*  la,  he  upset  the 
God.  老 爺 lao:i  ye-,  Mister,  Sir,  gentleman,  here  it 
is  instead  of 關老爺 kuan'  lao"  ye-,  the  God  of  war. 
架 cMa、  to  lean  the  object  on  a  stand,  here  in  order 
to  burn  it  completely.  冲 冲 怒 ch'ung'  ch'ung'  nu*, 
in  great  irritation. 

TRANSLATION. 
There  was  a  small  bald-headed  man,  whose 
name  was  Kao  ―  who  went  to  burn  incense  on  the 
first  and  on  the  fifteenth  ―  people  burn  incense  to 
get  a  son  or  a  daughter  ―  but  the  baldheaded  man 
burns  incense  to  make'  his  hair  grow  ―  after  three 
days  the  hair  was  growing  一  and  he  burns  incense 
一  and  dresses  the  God  with  a  new  jacket ― after 
three  days  the  hair  fell  off  ―  and  he  upset  the  Kuanti 
statue  and  placed  him  against  a  stand  to  burn  him 
― But  Kuanti  seeing  that,  was  awfully  irritated  ― 
he  took  up  his  great  halberd  and  split  the  man's 
calebash  (head)  into  two  ladles. 


LXXXVII 


兒 

兒半  兒 

站兩  采 

立兒劈 兒兒酒 

立沿猪 半半就 

立河個 I  1 酒 

立上 一 你我打 


一  124  一 


NOTES 

The  first  word  li''  is  reapeted  four  times  for  the 
sake  of  the  rhythm.  就、 酒茶兒 chiou^  chiou"Hs，ai''，r， 
to  accompan  ytlie  food  which  is  generally  taken  whilst 
drinking  wine  ；  here  it  alludes  to  the  pig  s  head. 

TRANSLATION 
I  top  here  ―  go  on  the  banks  of  the  river  ―  of 
a  pig's  head  we  will  make  two  portions  一  you  will 
get  a  half  ―  and  I  will  get  a  half  ―  and  we  will 
go  and  buy  wine  to  suit  the  wine-food. 


LXXXVIII 

邊 

淀 
NOTES 

This  song  is  not  very  intelligible  ；  names  of  places 
are  put  together  without  any  apparent  reason.  鎮 
chen'',  to  protect  against  bad  luck  and  danger.  鎮物 
chen''  u',  an  object  which  counteracts  evil  influences. 
The  brass  ox  which  is  spoken  of  here  is  on  the  shore 
of  the  lake  k'uni  ming-  hu'  and  is  there  to  oppose  the 
danger  which  Chinese  believe  would  arise  from  the 
overflowing  of  the  lake.  In  the  lake  there  is  snppo- 


上的海 

在兒在 

橋 牛腦 SI 

兒山 銅腐寵 

鍋壽 海豆喝 

鑼萬 鎮賣喝 


― 12o  一 


sed  to  be  a 海 眼 hai''  yea-\  that  is  to  say  a  sea-eye" 
a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  lake  which  communicates 
with  the  sea,  and  out  of  which  all  the  sea  water 
would  rise  and  overflow  the  country.  The  lake 見 
明 '湖 k'un'  ming-  hu-  is  in  the  Haiticn  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Peking.  在上邊 tzai''  shang'-  piea',  on  the 
shore.  豆 腐 腦 ton''  fu:、'  nao''，  sort  of  bean-curd.  喝 
ho'  ho',  cries  of  vendors  in  the  street,  JJl  lien- 
lien-,  without  interruption. 

TRANSLATION 

The  hunchback  bridge  ―  Wan-shou-shan  一  the 
brass  oxen  on  the  shore,  which  protects  the  country 
from  the  sea  water  ―  the  vendors  of  bean  curd  ― 
go  along  crying  their  ware  without  interruption. 


LXXXIX 


粉 餘馬櫃 

買買買  K 

不拔 不打不 餵不盛 


兒  男他 男他男 他男他 

婆潦他 粉他薛 ffiiH? 他櫃 

老 地着了 着了着 了着了 

黑 滿 瞵 買 嗔賀嘴 ^2; 嘴 .fi.. 


― 126  一 


NOTES 

滿地滚 man"'  ti''  kun^,  rolls  all  over  the  ground. 
嘆 着 ch'en'  cho?，  speaking  angrily,  scolding.  打 薛 
ta:i  ma ？，  to  beat  the  hemp,  to  take  away  the  bark  from 
the  stems.  盛 here  read  ch，eng?，  to  fill  something 
with,  to  put,  to  place  in.  上甲 shang''  tiao,',  to  hang 
oneself. 

TRANSLATION 

The  old  brown  woman  ―  rolls  herself  all  over 
the  ground  ―  scolding  because  her  husband  does 
not  buy  cosmetic  for  her  一  but  when  he  has  bought 
cosmetic  then  she  does  not  use  it  ―  scolding  becau- 
se lier  husband  does  not  buy  hemp  for  her  一  when 
he  has  bought  hemp,  then  she  does  not  thrash  it  ― 
scolding  because  her  husband  does  not  buy  a  horse 
― when  he  has  bought  a  horse,  she  does  not  feed 
it  一  scolding  because  her  husband  does  not  buy  a 
wardrobe  ―  when  he  has  bought  the  wardrobe,  she 
does  not  puts  her  things  there  一  scolding  because 
her  husband  has  not  bought  a  cord  ―  when  he  has 
bought  a  cord,  she  hangs  herself  ―  and  frightens 
her  husband  to  death. 


買 大 

不弔 一 

人上人 

rt9  1^  gas 

s\ 他多 

着了了 


一  127  一 


NOTES 

胖 Prf? 園螯 兒 P'ang'  ku'  lun'  tun'V,  fat  and  round, 
said  of  a  child.  5t  fit  tou'  tu''，  a  covering  for  the 
stomach  worn  by  children.  袋瓜兒 naoUai'' kua'，r， 
the  head,  the  skull,  a  jocular  expression.  毛兒 
uai'  mao?  ，r，  a  round  tuft  of  hair  which  small  boys 
wear  either  on  the  right  or  on  the  left  of  the  head. 
酒竊兒 chiu3  uo'，r，  dimples  in  the  cheek. 

TRANSLATION 
The  very  little  boy  ―  Is  round  and  fat  ―  he 
wears  a  gold  bracelet  on  his  arm  ―  and  wears  a 
red  stomach  protector  and  green  trowsers  ―  on  his 
head  he  wears  a  tuft  of  hair  ―  when  he  laughs  two 
dimples  appear  on  his  cheeks  ―  when  he  walks  all 
his  body  trembles  ―  and  taking  the  elder  sister  by 
the  hand  says :  elder  sister,  let  us  go  and  buy  fruit. 


兒 兒 

子兒毛  子 

鐲子歪  果 

金擁個  買 

個緑着  們 

兒 着肚梳 竊嗉借 

兒螯戴 s< 兒酒^ 姐 

子圇上 紅瓜倆 I 姐 

小. a- 臂穿袋 笑走着 

小胖 K 身腦 一  粒. 


一  128  一- 


XGI 

人 兒 
子 兒 
兒 

NOTES 

皇 城 huang-  ch'eng'-,  the  wall  which  goes  round 
the  imperial  city. 城根兒 ch'eng?  ken''r,  near  the  wall, 
opposite  to  it.  姐人兒 niu'-jen",  rather  affected  for 
the  sake  of  rhyme  instead  of  the  simple 組 兒 niui'r. 
有個意 思 il  iou:''  ko''  i''  ssu'-'r,  there  is  a  thought,  it 
is  amusing  pleasant  to  look  at  it  and  to  think  of  it. 
徘 環墜兒 p'ai-  huan-  chueFr,  a  sort  of  earrings  for 
women.  據 胸 ch'a'  yen',  to  rub  rose  cosmetic  on  the 
cheeks  or  on  the  palms  of  the  hands.  林 粉 muo ' fen 
to  rub  white  cosmetic  powder  on  the  cheeks.  小 
女婿兒 hsiao:'  nu"'  hsu',  a  small  son-in-law,  said  to  a 
girl  to  mean  her  bridegroom. 

TRANSLATION 
Near  the  wall  of  the  imperial  town  ―  there  is 


娥 婶墜譽  兒 

小 布環抓  婿 

個 藍徘大  女 

着兒 兒着是  小 

兒 兒站思 Si 戴的 兒兒的 

根 門兒意 汗上梳 賙粉我 

城溜 口個布 15^ 上 着着是 

黄 一 門有 白耳頭 搽秣誰 


一  120  一 


a  row  of  doors  ―  near  a  door  there  stands  a  small 
girl  ―  she  is  really  nice  ―  with  a  shirt  of  white  cloth 
and  trowsers  of  blue  cloth  ―  she  wears  round  ear- 
rings ― and,  has  a  great  chignon  on  her  head  ―  on 
the  face  she  has  rubbed  red  powder  ―  and  white 
powder  ―  who  shall  be  rny  J^ittle  bridegroom  ？ 


XCII 

簷 蝙 蝠  你 是 奶奶兒 

穿花鞋  我是爺 

NOTES 

The  first  two  verses  are  the  common  introduc- 
tion without  definite  meaning.  詹編幅 the  bat  is 
called  in  suhua  yen''  pien''  hu  -,  but  the  regular  pronun- 
ciation ought  to  be  yen-  pien''  fu-.  As  to  th^e  fact  of 
wearing  embroidered  shoes,  the  Chinese  explain  as 
follows :  sometimes  in  order  to  catch  a  bat,  a  shoe 
is  thrown  in  the  air,  and  the  bat  himself  runs  into 
the  shoe  and  so  falls  to  the  ground  and  is  taken. 
Very  likoly  the  need  of  a  rhyme  has  forced  in  the 
whole  phrase. 

TRANSLATION 

The  bat  ―  wears  embroidered  shoes  ―  you  arc 
a  wife  —  and  I  am  a  husband. 


9 


一  130  一 


XCIII 

狸 敏 


蹄 

的 猫兒去 


NOTES 

花兒 花兒 hua'，r  hua'，r，  is  equivalent  to  the 
english  puss  ！  puss  ！  to  call  a  cat.  花 兒狐 裡 hua'，r 
hu?  IF  striped  fox-the  name  of  one  of  the  cats  belonging 
to  the  lady.  鞭 打編球 pien'  ta^  hsiou'  ch'iu-,  means 
literally  "  a  whip  that  beats  the  embroidered  ball  ". 
The  coats  of  cats  have  different  curious  names  to 
distinguish  them.  This  phrase  means  a  cat  which  has 
a  black  tail  and  a  black  spot  on  the  forehead,  meaning 
that  with  his  long  black  tail  (the  whip)  he  strikes  the 
black  spot  on  the  forehead  (the  embroidered  ball). 
金鎮玉 chin'  hsiang'  yii''，  another  name  for  a  cat's 
coat  "  jade  inlaid  with  gold  ，，  a  cat  with  a  white  coat 
with  yellow  spots.  雪 裏送炭 hsiie'-  li:''  sung'  fan'', 
another  name,  literally  explained  "coal  sent  in  the 
snow"  a  black  coat  with  four  white  paws.  銀 蹄 
in'-t'i-,  a  silver  hoof,  said  of  white  hoofs  and  paws. 


狐兒 玉銀們  一 

兒名鍵 個我來 一 

貓花 有金四 了筋皮 

.r 兒 維球炭 偷的： S 

太花 的繡送 要你你 

太兒 們打裹 人了了 

老花 我鞭雲 有柚斜 


一  I3t  一 


TRANSLATION 

The  old  lady  calls  the  cat  ―  puss,  puss  ！  Fox  ― 
our  cats  have  all  a  name  ―  (there  is)  "  the  whip  that 
beats  the  embroidered  ball "  and  "  jade  inlaid  with 
gold" ― and  more  "coal  brought  in  the  snow  "  with 
four  white  paws  ―  if  there  is  a  man  who  wants  to 
steal  away  my  cat  ―  I  will  draw  out  your  muscles 
― and  peel  away  your  skin. 


XCIV 


怕.  他， 

害蠟、  兒家 

就燈了  兒孩 罷去同 

媽個 i:  香巴 . 牙？^ 我出不 

我着兒  說嘴  着 一  了滚我 

見 ffl 油脚 跑還 挨兒兒 了 饒我遠 

兒 辣瞧下 了洗前 子舆烟 茶媽叫 兒氣东 

椒 不爸地 流要往 機說袋 碗我爸 太生兒 

秦 麼爸在 怕媽爹 了是過 過的爸 太要今 

小 怎我婉 還我我 脫要装 甅 樂我 老再從 


一  132  一 


NOTES 

This  song  is  supposed  to  be  sung  by  a  small  boy 
who  innocently  relates  the  strife  between  father  and 
mother.  In  China  although  the  family  laws  are  severe 
and  different  from  ours,  yet  there  exists  a  sufficient 
number  of  henpecked  husbands.  A  number  of  anec- 
dotes regarding  uxorious  husbands  are  currently 
spread.  秦 椒 ch'in)  chiao',  chillies  (lat.  Capsicum 
aniiuum )  ；  very  likely  here  the  house  wife  is  not 
wrongly  likened  to  the  chillies. 爸爸 pa''  pa'',  common 
appellation  for  father,  and  the  same  as  our  papa, 
ffl 着燈 ting'-cho'-teng",  bearing  a  lamp  on  the  head  ； 
a  henpecked  husband  is  jestingly  supposed  to  kneel 
down  before  his  wife,  who  orders  him  as  a  punish- 
ment to  stay  a  long  time  in  that  position,  with  an 
oil-lamp  on  his  head.  So  the  husband  must  endure 
the  pain  of  being  scalded  by  the  oil  that  drops  down 
from  the  lamp  and  runs  on  his  back.  This  notion  is 
so  generally  known  and  jested  about  that  one  of  the 
must  common  tricks  to  produce  general  hilarity  is  to 
alarm  a  friend  by  saying  he  has  got  oil-stains  on  his 
back.  Everybody  understands  what  fictions  that 
alludes  to.  油 iu-,  for  oil  is  intended  here  the  pro- 
duct of  the  melting  of  wax.  ~ ■ 袋 姻 i'tai''  yen',  a 
pipe  filled  with  tobacco.  孩 兒 他 ^？禺 hai'V  t'a'  ma', 
"the  children's  mother"  title  given  by  the  husband  to 
a  wife  who  has  born  children  to  him.  The  wife  in  her 
turn  calls  the  husband 孩兒他 爸爸 hai  'r  t'a'  pa'  pa', 
the  children's  father.  Two  abridged  phrases  for 
that  are 他媽 and 他爹. 


― 133  一 


TRANSLATION 
The  small  chillies  ―  how  could  they  not  be 
bitter  ？  ―  when  my  father  catches  sight  of  my  mo- 
ther, he  is  afraid  ―  he  kneels  down  with  a  lamp 
on  his  head,  ―  and  is  also  afraid  lest  the  oil  should 
run  down,  or  the  candle  should  fall  ―  when  my 
mother  wants  to  wash  her  feet  ―  my  father  runs 
forward  ―  when  he  has  taken  down  the  socks  he 
says  that  it  is  scented  ―  if  he  says  it  is  bad  smelling 
he  gets  a  slap  on  the  face  ―  when  he  has  filled  her 
pipe  ―  and  handed  over  to  her  a  cup  of  tea  ―  my 
mother  is  so  delighted  that  she  shows  her  teeth  -一 
my  father  has  once  called  her  :  o  mother  of  my 
children  ―  old  lady,  forgive  me,  now  ―  if  you  are 
going  to  get  angry  again,  I  will  roll  away  ―  and  from 
now  henceforward  I  will  never  come  back  home. 


xcv 

蒿 子燈        今 a 默 
iw 葉 m        明 兒 個 扔 

NOTES 

On  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  seventh  moon  is 
celebrated  the  Feast  of  the  Spirits 中 元節 chung'  yiian- 
chie-.  In  the  evening  many  lanterns  are  lighted  on 
the  streets.  筒- 子 燈 hao'  tzj''  tang',  it  is  not  a  lantern 
but  a  whole  plant  of  artemisia  on  the  branches  of 
which  incense  sticks  are  bound  and  then  lighted. 


一  134  一 


荷葉燈 ho?  ye'*  teng',  another  lantern  formed  of  a 
leaf  of  lotus  on  which  a  candle  has  been  fixed. 

TRANSLATION 
The  artemisia  lantern  ―  and  the  lotus-lantern 
― to  day  they  are  lighted  ―  and  to-morrow  they 
are  thrown  away. 


NOTES 

頊 ting3，  to  reach  with  the  head .  ^  if^  fang?  t，uo?， 
the  principal  beam  in  the  roof.  框 k'ou'  means  here 
sunken,  deep  and 竊框眼 uo'  k'ou'  yen',  sunken  eyes. 
挺 t，ing3，  character  used  to  form  the  superlative  in 
very  common  language,  used  instead  of 項 ting-'. 


XCVI 

他 m 


仵 破 移 


兩 罷 

有我鳴 

沒了得 

子嫁又 

大 叙媽來 

柁眼脖 I 兒多 的你悠 

三 房樞長 着窿丁 身訴得 

々B 竊挺穿 輔蹿告 J 


— i  3tj  — 


移 穩 tuo  ；  luo-,  sort  of  old  dress  consisting  of  a  long 
gown  with  a  high  collar,  worn  in  winter  time. 
補 丁  Pu'  tingj,  patches.  A  Chinese  coat  has  never 
more  than  six  buttons. 

TRANSLATION 
Sar's  mother  ―  is  as  tall  as  the  roof  ―  has  sun- 
ken eyes  ―  and  a  very  long  neck  ―  she  wears  a 
broken  overcoat  ―  with  big  holes  ―  and  many 
patches  ―  on  her  whole  person  there  arc  not  even 
two  buttons  一  now,  tell  your  mother  to  marry  mc  ！ 
― she  will  get  food  and  drink. 


XCVII 

小 子兒  倫 m 吃 
上 m  6、         下 不 來 

TRANSLATION 
The  small  mouse  ―  has  climbed  up  the  cand- 
lestick ― to  steal  oil  to  eat  一  and  now  cannot  come 
down. 


XCVIII 


王 

竈 

祭 i: 

o 草 

蠟 番三兒 

枝 股十碟 

IS  一  二 


—— 136 —— 


NOTES 

This  song  speaks  about  the  ceremony  for  the 
God  of  the  stove  on  the  23''  day  of  the  twelfth  moon. 
Before  the  God's  picture  incense  is  burning  and  on 
the  table  there  is  a  dish  containing  water,  and  one 
with  grass  which  is  supposed  to  serve  for  the  God's 
horse.  The  water  then  is  thrown  to  the  ground  and 
the  grass  in  the  air.  That  means  the  end  of  this  ce- 
remony.   當家的 tang"  chia'  ti，  the  oldest  man  in 
the  family  who  is  called  to  perform  the  sacrifices 
and  all  religious  ceremonies.    天 堂 t'ien'  fang-,  the 
Heavenly  hall,  the  paradise.    爆 竹 p，ao''  chu-,  fire 
crackers.     响 口 丁       hsiang^  ting'  tang',  the  noise  is 
ting-tang;    關東糖 kuan'-tung'  t'ang ？，  Manchurian 
sugar.  The  Chinese  offer  sugar  to  this  God,  with 
the  aim  of  letting  his  teeth  stick  together  and  so 
prevent  him  from  relating  to  Heaven  all  the  incon- 
venience and  misdeed  he  had  occasion  to  see  in  the 
family  during  twelve  months  ；  with  this  hope,  the 
Chinese  merrily  begin  their  New-year. 


堂頭^  糖 

, 天把叮 罷東 

上來晌 來關 

下過竹  同着 

水 地的爆 爺罷留 

碗 在家灘 王來你 

一 撥當三 竈同給 


一  137  一 


TRANSLATION 

Two  candles  一  a  bundle  of  incense  sticks  ~ 
on  the  23''  day  it  is  sacrificed  to  the  God  of  the 
hearth  ―  there  is  a  dish  full  of  grass  ―  and  a  dish 
full  of  water  ―  when  the  water  is  thrown  on  the 
ground  the  God  ascends  to  Heaven  ―  the  eldest  of 
the  family  comes  over  and  knocks  his  head  on  the 
ground  ―  then  three  volleys  of  crackers  with  a  great 
noise  ―  God  of  the  hearth  ―  come  back  I  come  back  1 
― we  keep  for  you  Manchurian  sugar. 


XCIX 


m 

NOTES 

四角兒 ssu''  chiao-'r,  with  four  corners.  中 央 
Chung  yang',  in  the  middle-the  word  yang'  is  pronoun- 
ced vulgarly  yang-.  束坡肉 tungi  p'uo'  jou''，  sort  of 
meat  prepared  in  a  special  way  as  directed  by  a 
certain  old  literary  man  who  was  a  great  authority 
also  on  kitchen  matters.  His  name  was 蘇 戟 Su'- 
shih'<  and  his  surname,  hao,  was  Tung  p'uo'.  保 府 
Pao3-fu;  is  instead  of 保定府 Pao'  ting'  fu:''，  the  head 


央肉香 

中坡寶 

在农八 

擺子的 

兒方 兒鴨來 

i& 兒 碗燒帶 

仙^^子猪府 

八四 S 燒保 


一  138  ― 


prefecture  in  the  Chih-li  province.  八 喪香腸 
pa'  pao'  hsiaag'  ch'ang'  "  the  odorous  sausages  with 
eight  treasures  '，  a  sort  of  sausages  made  of  pork 
stuffed  into  chicken's  intestines.  The  eight  treasu- 
res alluded  to  arc  the  spices,  aromas  which  arc  in 
the  stuff.  These  sausages  come  from  Pao-ting-fu. 

TRANSLATION 
A  tabic  for  eight  persons  ―  with  four  corners 
square  ―  plates  and  cups  arc  placed  in  the  middle 
of  it  ―  roast  pork,  roast  duck,  and  meat  prepared 
a  la  Tung-p  uo  ―  and  sausages  from  Pao-ting-fu. 


C 

乐 X 


NOTES 

Yi-  5il  hsi  'r  stands  for  0  hsi :  cli'iaa'',  the  magpie. 
嫌 ch'ieu',  to  peck.  汪 汪 uang'  uang',  imitates  the 
noise  of  barking.  撲 鼠 p'u'  shu to  rush  on  mice, 
to  catch  mice  as  cats  do.  These  words  arc  repeated 
by  children  when  they  catch  sight  of  magpies. 

TRANSLATION 
The  magpie,  the  magpie  eats  bcancurd  ―  the 
chicken  comes  over  and  pecks  a  handful  of  grain  ― 


•s 把家 a 

豆赚看 K 

吃 來要會 

兒 過汪來 

喜 S 汪 過 

S 小狗猫 


一  m  ― 


the  dog  barks  and  wants  to  look  after  the  house  ― 
the  cat  comes  over  and  wants  to  catch  the  mice. 


CI 

喜 兒 g 兄買豆 腐 
該 我的錢 
臘月 二十五 

NOTES 

Chinese  accounts  and  debts  arc  paid  at  the  end 
of  every  quarter  and  the  great  bulk  of  money 
accounts  ought  to  be  paid,  in  the  1 2"'  month  from 
the  25"'  day  to  the  3o"'  at  midnight. 

TRANSLATION 
The  magpie,  the  magpie  buys  bcancurd  ―  those 
who  owe  mc  money  ―  ( I  shall  sec  them)  on  the  25"' 
day  of  the  12"'  moon. 


Gil 

一 時睡着 


顚你 我上创 


一  140  一 


NOTES 

The  song  relates  a  dream.  顧不得 ku''  pu'»  to-, 
without  aperceiving  it  ；  insensibly.  fj§  kao''，  said  also 
缀 頭 chiie;  t'ou-,  a  hoe.  The  first  character  is  not 
noted  in  dictionaries.  包 p'ao',  to  dig  the  ground 
with  a  hoe.  蒲包 p'u-  pao',  a  bundle  made  of  rushes. 
金鋼石 chin'  kang'  shih',  the  diamond.  金 鋼鑽兒 
chin'  kang'  tsuan'-'r,  the  diamond-pointed  awl  used  by 
menders  of  crockery.  倒 槽 tao::  ts'ao-,  said  of  ani- 
mals "to  die  near  the  manger,  in  the  stable".  眼 
力 兒 潮 yen"  li'V  ch'ao',  lit.  the  strenght  of  the  eyes 


保  子 

包  潮兒微 

蒲瞧  高 燒 兒人  的康 

大裏寶  丈跆火 槽力沒  IS 神 

個 望元，  雨逃怕 倒哏子  頭^< 

出 包銀兒 樹怕子 w 鋪掉 摸模 ffi 鬼 

® 蒲蠻 鑽赞子 人房驪 當錢兒 兒個我 

刨着 元鋼大 珊買買 W 問開 J_ 您了的 

一 隔 金金兩 瑚要要 S 要要東 ：晩 模；^ 


一  141  ― 


is  damp,  that  is  to  say  we  have  not  eyes  good  enough 
to  distinguish  good  objects  from  bad  ones  -  a  faculty 
which  is  necessary  in  such  an  establishment  as  a 
pawn-shop.  The  word  ch'ao-  has  also  in  other  cases 
the  meaning  of  not  up  to,  insufficient,  as  in 潮 銀子 
ch'ao'  yin-  tzu,  bad  silver,  with  too  much  alloy.  錢 掉 
子 ch'ien-  cho'-tzu, lit.  "money-table"  a  bank  autho- 
rized to  issue  small  banknotes  and  guaranteed  by 
other  banks.  模 niuo',  to  feci  with  the  hands,  read 
here  vulgarly  ma  A  1；^ 哭 樣 kuei  '  k,u'  shen'  hao'， 
"the  devils  weep  and  the  spirits  wail "  that  is  "  in 
a  very  painful  way". 

TRANSLATION 

Without  perceiving  it  in  a  moment  I  fell  asleep 
― ( I  dreamed )  you  had  shouldered  a  gun  一  and  I 
shouldered  a  hoe  一  and  went  to  the  South  morass  ― 
to  dig  out  silver  ingots  ―  and  digging  、vc  dug  out  a 
big  rush  wrapper  ―  through  the  rush  wrapper  we 
looked  in  一  there  were  gold  ingots  and  silver  ingots 
― and  two  large  buckets  of  diamonds  ―  and  two 
coral  trees  two  chang  high  ―  but  if  we  buy  servants 
I  am  afraid  they  would  run  away  ―  if  we  buy  houses 
I  am  afraid  they  would  burn  ―  if  we  buy  cm  ass,  I 
am  afraid  he  would  die  near  the  manger  ―  if  we 
open  a  pawn-shop,  wc  have  not  eyes  good  enough 
for  that  ―  if  we  open  a  money-shop,  there  is  none 
who  will  guarantee  us  ―  but  feeling  for  the  Fast 
一  and  feeling  for  the  West  ―  I  felt  a  big  ugly 


― 14-2  一 


scorpion  一  wliicli  bit  me  so  painfully  that  it  made 
me  scream. 


cm 


爹 
鞋 


NOTES 

tiy. 胡琴兒 lai-hu'-ch,m"r，  to  play  the  tartar  fiddle. 
打 鐵 ta:'  t'ie^  to  beat  the  iron,  to  work  the  iron.  腰 
裏 被 yao'  li:'ye'，  to  hide,  to  place  something  in  the 
waist.  ―  These  baskets  made  of  rushes  arc  especi- 
ally used  for  containing  objects  for  gifts.  格登： ^老 
ko?  tengi  tengi  imitates  the  noise  of  the  shoes  slapping 
on  the  ground.  鴨 蛋 ya'  tan'-ch'ing'  of  the  same 
colour  as  the  eggs  of  ducks. 


鐡  乾帽 S  靑 

打  贈纓底  ffi 

我  兒紅厚  鴨 

琴兄  包着着  S3 

姐姐胡 錢披蒲 戴穿步 

大二^  了裏 個爹兒 一 登 5 

小小你 腰 貝乾乾 走格扎 


一  143  一 

TRANSLATION 
You  the  first  small  young  lady  ―  and  I  the  se- 
cond small  young  lady  ―  you  play  on  the  fiddle  一 
and  I  will  strike  the  iron  ―  when  we  will  have  gai- 
ned money  ―  we  will  put  it  in  the  waist  ―  we  will 
buy  a  rush  basket  and  will  go  to  see  our  adopted 
father  ―  Our  adopted  father  has  a  red  fringed  hat  ― 
and  our  adopted  mother  has  shoes  with  a  thick  sole 
― at  every  step  ―  the  creaking  is  heard  ―  the  but- 
terflies embroidered  on  the  shoes  are  of  duck's  egg 
colour. 


NOTES 

The  dragon  is  compared  to  the  bridegroom  and 
the  phoenix  bird  .to  the  bride.  In  the  marriage  cor- 
tege there  arc  taken  round  a  pair  of  banners  on 
which  the  dragon  is  painted  and  another  pair  on 


w  ^了  天  板 

G 幾嬰  朝  上 

十要 龍鳳斧 々子 

娘家 兒兒鉞 鞋兒掉 

姑婆 對對瓜 紅蝶了 

新要 一  一 金小^ 跳 


― 144  一 


which  is  painted  the  phoenix.  余 瓜 chin'  kua'，  gilt 
wood  gourd  stuck  to  the  end  of  a  pole  and  taken 
round.  娥 斧 yiie''  fu:''，  a  sort  of  wooden  axe.  朝 天 
錢 ch'ao-  t'ien'  teng'',  a  stirrup  iron  turned  upside  down 
and  stuck  on  a  pole.  小 紅 鞋 53  hsiao:''  hung'  hsie-'r, 
red  satin  shoes  worn  by  the  bride,  ffl 蝶兒夢 
hu*  t  ier-  r  meng''，  the  Dream  of  the  butterflies,  name  of 
a  pattern  of  shoes  on  which  butterflies  are  embroi- 
dered. 

TRANSLATION 

The  bride  is  ten  years  and  more  ―  the  mother- 
in-law  wants  to  take  her  home  一  a  pair  of  dragon 
flags  ―  and  a  pair  of  phoenix  flags  ―  and  gilt 
gourds,  gilt  axes,  and  reversed  stirrups.  ―  (  the 
bride  wears )  small  red  shoes  一  and  she  jumps  on 
the  table  and  then  on  the  bench. 


NOTES 

These  words  describe  the  toilet  of  a  small  oirl. 
有邊 • 兒 iou'  pien^'r,  slang  phrase  which  means  to  be 


GV 

邊 5i  « 有遜兒 


兒 

子 

衫 的 

节  大兄 

兒 的肩花 

^布 坎典 

有^ ffi 時 


—— 14o  一 


very  nice,  to  be  first  rate.  衫 兒 shan'V,  read  here 
shan'V,  a  summer  thin  bodice.  時 典 shih、）  hsingi, 
the  fashion.  赛 糧船兒 sai'  Hang-  ch'uan-V,  bigger, 
larger  than  a  ship  used  to  bring  the  grain  tributes. 

TRANSLATION 

She  is  first  rate,  first  rate,  really  first  rate  I  一 
with  a  great  bodice  of  azure  cloth  ―  and  a  brown 
waistcoat  ―  and  trowsers  with  a  new  pattern,  as 
large  as  a  rice  junk.  ' 


CVI 

喪 氣 
倒 愁 氣 


NOTES 

In  Peking,  generally  acknowledged  to  be  the 
dirtiest  city  in  the  world,  it  is  not  an  uncommon  sight 
to  see  people  stopping-  on  the  public  streets  to  per- 
form the  duties  of  nature.  The  chinese  do  not  resent 
it  but  the  boys  have  composed  these  few  verses 
which  they  sing  loudly,  when  the  occasion  arises 

'  10 


好子 打 的 

兒兎 枪看屎 

門 M 拿一 

了了 要了傰 

出 剛看足 


一  140  一 


of  insulting  any  one  caught  in  the  act.  好 hao^  does 
not  mean  here  good  but  "how  much ，，  ！  how  great  ！ 
― We  have  already  hinted  at  the  double  meaning  of 
the  word  hare  in  China.  Here  the  word  is  not  used 
without  a  reason  ；  倒愁氣 tao''  pie<  ch，i''，  means  to 
draw  in  the  breath  as  if  preparing  for  an  effort. 

TRANSLATION 
As  soon  as  I  came  out  of  my  gate,  what  an 
unauspicious  sight  ！  ―  I  saw  a  hare  which  was 
drawing  in  its  breath  一  I  was  just  going  to  take 
the  gun  aiyl  shoot  ―  when  looking  more  closely 
—— it  was  a  man  who  had  been  taken  short  ！ 


CVII 


到 二廟兒 


着個肥 4^ 鶴 
兒 


NOTES 

P^tungi  tung"  tung',  imitates  the  noise  of  a 
drum  and 根 兒 imitates  the  cock's  crowing.  草 
ts，ao3  tim's  a  heap  of  straw,  of  oats. 


咚兒坐東西坐§-^^ 

咚轔 坐廟廟 頭娘草 

^坐 一二  二裏 股上 


一  147  一 


TRANSLATION 
The  drums  are  striking  ―  ( she)  is  sitting  in  the 
chair  一  and  has  gone  as  far  the  second  temple  一 
the  east  of  the  temple  ―  and  the  west  of  the  tem- 
ple ― inside  there  sits  a  fat  cock  ―  which  crows  一 
and  flies  on  a  heap  of  straw. 


CVIII 

麼 咚 

一窩 耗子精 

要 

NOTES 

The  interior  of  a  miserable  house  is  described. 
黑 薩 hei<  ku'  lung-  tung'  ( pronounce  with  the 
accent  on  the  last)  the  first  syllabe  only  gives  a  clear 
sense-the  other  cannot  be  explained  but  the  general 
sense  is  that  of  complete  obscurity,  chaos.  耗子精 
hao'  tzj  ching',  transformation  of  mice  :  fantastical 
mouse-like  elves.    不 好 pu*  hao:;  here  alas  ！ 

TRANSLATION 

Upon  entering  all  was  pitch  dark  ―  because 
first  the  copper  basin  had  been  pawned  and  then 
the  lamp  too  ―  going  inside  ( I  perceived  )  I  was  in 
a  nest  of  mouse-like  elves  ―  and  just  when  I  was 
saying :  alas  ！  here  the  wall  is  coming  down  ！ 


.gl 當是牆 

黑 後本好 

兒 盆兒不 

門 銅門聲 

進當進 一 

先  1  0 


― 148  一 


CIX 


NOTES 

At  first  it  was  very  difficult  for  me  to  get  any 
sense  out  of  these  four  verses  but  at  last  I  got  from 
quite  an  uncultivated  person  this  explanation  which 
could  solve  all  the  difficulties.  The  words  above 
refer  to  the  theatre  and  to  the  actors.  In  China 
no  female  actors  are  allowed  and  so  the  second 
verse  could  represent  a  man  who  combs  the 
hair  as  a  woman,  to  act  on  the  stage.  It  seems 
furthermore  to  say  in  the  third  verse  that  although 
the  actors  on  the  stage  very  often  play  the  part  of 
scholars  approved  at  the  examinations  yet  they  ha- 
ve no  real  reason  to  be  glad  there  at.  The  fourth 
verse  then  means  to  say  that  although  loving  and 
affectionates  pairs  are  to  be  seen  on  the  stage 
yet  that  is  sham  as  they  are  of  the  same  sex. 
及 第 chi'  ti',  technical  phrase  to  mean  "to  be  ap- 
proved at  the  examinations".  ^  k'ung',  void,  vainly. 
恩 愛 en'-ai'',  mutual  love  derived  from  gratitude  and 
esteem,  as  that  between  husband  and  wife.  不 到 
頭 pu'  tao'  t'au-,  "  does  not  come  to  a  point"  that  is, 
has  no  aim,  no  regular  fruit,  as  expected  after 
marriage. 


0 頭 s  0 

跑 人歡到 

一女 《発不 

上 着第妻 

山 梳及夫 

高 人 元 ^ 

高 男狀恩 


一  1 41)  一 


TRANSLATION 
On  a  very  high  mountain  there  is  a  high  tower 
(stage)  ―  a  man  is  combing  there  as  a  woman  ― 
the  first  candidate  approved  at  the  examinations 
rejoices  in  vain  ~  and  lovino  husband  and  wife 
will  never  come  to  a  point. 


CX 

元 

Mi 兒 
兒 

m 兒  . 

茶 兒 

Mi  §a 

NOTES 

小 元 52  hsiao3  yuan'V,  "  the  small  First  ，，  surna- 
me for  a  boy.  踢 球 t'i'  ch'iu-  to  kick  balls ',  sort  of 
game  in  which  the  ability  consists  in  pushing  with 
the  feet  a  stone  ball  and  trying  to  touch  the  adver- 
sary's. 打 嘆 52  ta:i  ka、'，r，  another  game  which  con- 
sists in  throwing  very  far  a  wooden  ball  by  mean 
of  a  wooden  racket  called 棒 兒 pang^'r.  二間兒 
eur*  cha-'r,  the  second  canal  lock  near  the  Tung- 
pien-men.  On  the  banks  there  is  a  very  elegant 
resort   for  young  men.    Fating- houses  provide 


小人 « 兒個 個去人 

兄倆 打闢一  一 家倆 

元 們球二  了了 到們 

小偕 if 上吃 喝 m 偕 


一  150  ― 


meals,  female  singers,  boats  and  all  that  is  neces- 
sary to  make  a  Chinese  happy. 

TRANSLATION 

Small  Yiiar ？、  small  Yiiar-  ―  now,  let  us  play  ― 
let  us  kick  the  balls  or  play  at  rackets  ―  and  go  to 
the  second  Canal  lock  ―  when  we  shall  have  taken 
a  meal  ―  and  when  we  shall  have  drunk  tea  ―  we 
will  go  back  home  ―  now,  let  us  play  ！ 


CXI 


裳  落 

衣  大 

洗白， 兒  一 

兒得婦  兒  有 

門獎媳  花 燒個倒 

爺堂後 白個財 酒牌麻 火錢兒 哥過子 

亮堂開 得了存 喝鬬餅 S 大壁 三會靴 

月亮開 洗娶不 愛愛燒 黑倆隔 姜也緑 


一  lol  一 


NOTES 

月亮爺 y"'  liang?  ye-,  "  the  father  moon  "  name 
given  to  the  moon  by  children.  亮堂堂 Hang''  fang' 
t'angl,  very  bright.  Observe  here  the  change  of  tone 
in  the  word 堂 to  be  read  regularly  fang'-.  存 財 
ts'un-  ts'ai-,  to  be  economical,  to  put  aside  money. 
麻 花 52  ma、'  hua'，r,  a  sort  of  bun.  一 落 i'  luo 
a  pile.  These  words  are  supposed  to  be  uttered 
by  a  wife  who  in  the  night,  goes  out  in  the  court  to 
wash  her  linen  and  working,  thinks  of  her  sorrows. 
姜三哥 Chiang'  san'  ko',  the  word  Chiang  is  a  family 
name.  San'  ko',  means  that  the  man  in  question  is 
the  third  in  his  family.  過 kuo'*  is  here  tor 過日子 
kuo;  jih'  tzu,  to  pass  one's  life,  to  live  and  spend  one's 
days  peacefully,  that  is  to  say  economically  and  fru- 
gally. 緑 《|> 買子 1"  '  mao'  tzu,  "  a  green  hat  ；  the  green 
colour  is  in  China  reserved  for  deceived  husbands, 
and  the  phrase  "to  wear  a  green  hat'  means  to 
have  a  partner  in  the  marriage. 

TRANSLATION 

The  father  moon  ―  is  so  bright  ！  ―  I  open  the 
back  door  to  wash  my  linen  ―  I  wash  it  white  and 
I  starch  it  white  ―  but  ( my  husband )  after  having 


子子子 

帽袍套 

緑緑緑 


一  lo5  一 


married  me  ―  is  thrifty  with  his  money  一  he  likes 
to  drink  wine  ―  he  likes  to  play  cards  ―  ( and  likes 
t^o)  a  great  pile  of  cakes  and  buns  ―  and  brown 
flower  biscuits  ―  which  cost  two  big  cash  each  ― 
but  here  living  by  us ― there  is  a  neighbour,  Chiang 
the  third  ―  who  knows  how  to  live  well  ―  because 
he  has  got  green  boots  一  and  a  green  hat  一  and 
a  green  garment  ―  and  a  green  jacket. 


CXII 


穀 

看黄 

了頭  襠  脚兒兒  兒兒去 

兒 活 賣丫飪 掷鍋裹 碟面地 邊葉裏 

* 探養個 都秃刷 冼刷洗 檫洗掃 南穀家 

兒 草年八 的了他 裏他裏 他裏他 到着上 

* 上 一 七 好剩讓 赶讓鍋 讓碟讓 崩看再 


― l:;:^  一 

NOTES 

From  the  beginning  of  the  song  I  could  think 
that  the  matter  is  about  a  cock,  but  that  is  only  in 
a  jocose  way  because  afterwards  it  conies  to  speak 
of  a  girl.  摊 I 嵩 k,u'  tang',  the  bottom  of  the  trowsers. 
裹 脚 kuo'  chiao'.  foot-bands  used  by  women  with 
small  feet. 

TRANSLATION 

The  cock  crowing  ―  has  jumped  on  the  heap 
of  grass  ―  every  year  he  bears  seven  or  ei.ght  times 
― the  good  ones  he  has  all  sold  —  only  a  bald-hea- 
ded ( small )  girl  is  left  ―  if  he  lets  her  wash  the 
vats  ―  she  washes  there  the  bottom  of  the  trowsers 
― if  he  lets  her  wash  the  ricepot  ―  she  washes 
there  her  footbands  ―  if  he  lets  her  wash  the  sau- 
cers ― she  washes  her  face  in  the  saucers  ―  if  he 
lets  her  sweep  the  ground  ―  she  runs  away  tow- 
ards the  South  to  look  at  the  grain  fields  ―  when 
she  has  seen  that  the  gva'in  is  yellow  ―  she  conies 
back  home. 


CXIII 


棠^ 

海 T 

男 化 J 

頭走 

夫 郧枕娘 

丈 的的姑 

兒兒 兒兒 

花 花蓮人 

莉 莉枝美 

茉 荣串虞 


NOTES 

攻瑰露 mei'、'  kuei''  lu's  rose  water  ；  in  other 
cases  it  means  also  a  sort  of  white  wine.  This 
song  seems  to  be  composed  of  scraps  of  other 
songs. 

TRANSLATION 

The  jasmine -husband  ―  the  jasmine-bride- 
groom ( is  there )  ―  on  the  wild  lotus  pillow  is 
embroidered  the  flower  of  the  Pyrus  specta bill's  ― 
the  Rhoeas  young-lady  enters  the  room  ―  and 
weeps  bitterly  thinking  of  her  own  mother  ―  she 
rubs  on  her  face  good  cosmetic  powder  scented 
with  rose  water  ―  and  she  rubs  rouge  scented  like 
rose  petals  on  her  lips  ―  by  means  of  a  round  cloth 
shaped  like  a  plum-flower. 


香 

兒 糠 

香瓣 吃 

5^瑰  >^  ^ 

娘 露玫兒  ^ 

親瑰 脂堂猪  靠 

^  想玫 網堂小  兒 

汪粉 花亮個  婦 

汪官 梅步了 鼓鑼媳 

淚檫點 I 買 靠靠娶 

眼臉嘴 * 新鼓 鑼新 


55  ― 


衣賣  兒兒兒  兒 

宮寺 撟廟櫻  估錢兒 灣刺寺  口糖房 奶皮 

^ 弓天字 塔« 布跳王 蘆牌.  賣 兒烟家 根國斗 街大家 袋奶瓜 

§ 大 朝大白 紅馬三 帝莉四  下 多袋毛 扎護大 新賣蔣 姻王西 

粒是 寫是掛 是跳是 搖是東 西底衣 柚是兒 是賣是 是 安是陏 

門就宮 就寺就 ig 就廟就 * 樓樓 估火就 灣就寺 就口就 房就奶 

則 去天去 塔去布 去王去 牌牌牌 間個去 家去國 去街去 家去奶 

平過朝 過白過 iHl 過 * 過四四 四 問打過 毛過護 過新過 蔣過王 


NOTES 

This  song  contains  a  description  of  the  streets 
in  Peking.  平 則 門 p'ing-  tso'  men',  the  central  gate 
in  the  west-wall  of  the  Manchu  city.  拉大 弓 la' 
ta'''  kung',  to  practice  archery  using  a  large  bow  ；  lit. 
to  draw  the  long  bow.  朝 天 宮 chao'  t'ien'  kung', 
name  of  a  temple.  白塔寺 pai'  t'a:  ssu''，  the  temple 
of  the  white  pagoda.  掛 紅 飽 kua''  hung-  p'ao',  to 
put  a  red  coat  on  the  image  of  Buddha,  as  people 
do  who  have  received  a  favour. 馬 Th' 橋 The  horse 
mart  bridge.  A  bridge  on  the  canal.  搖 莉 藍 
iao'  hu'  lu-,  to  shake  a  gourd,  as  babies  are  allowed 
to  do,  in  order  to  keep  them  quiet.  四 牌 樓 ssu'' 
p'ai-  lou-,  a  square  formed  by  the  junction  of  four 
streets  at  right  angles.  At  each  side  there  is  a 
wooden  monumental  arch.  Two  of  these  squares 
exist  in  Peking,  one  in  the  east  of  the  Tartar  city 
called 東四 牌樓 tiing'  ssu''  p'ai^  lou?  and  another 
in  the  west  of  the  city  called 西 四 牌 櫻 hsi'  ssu'' 
p'ai-  lou?，  which  is  alluded  to  here.    估 衣 ku-  i'，  old 


多 

局兒 根兒？ S 

藥針 城頭八 

火 鋼老雨 王子鍋 

是賣是 5： 儿 是 ^  =t 

就 局就根 就曬蹯 

去 藥去城 去天天 

過 火過老 過晴陰 


clothes,  the  word  ku'  is  here  pronounced  ku*.  打火 
ta3  huo\  to  strike  the  tire-stone  to  get  fire. 丄 Matches 
are  not  yet  in  general  use.  毛家灣 mao'  chia-  uan''r 
Mao  family's  corner-name  of  place.  扎 根 束 ij 
cha'  ken'  tz'u%  to  be  pricked  by  a  thorn,  a  needle. 
This  phrase  is  merely  introduced  for  the  sake  of 
rhyming  with  the  next  verse.  護國寺 hu''  kuo-  ssu'*, 
temple  for  the  protection  of  the  State. 斗 tou",  a 
willow  peck,  a  Chinese  measure.  新街口  hsin- 
cbie>  kW,  Mouth  of  the  new  street,  name  of  a  street. 
大 糖 ta' t'ang?,  sticks  of  sugar  sold  to  children. 蔣 
家 房 Chiang:' chia'  fang-,  "  the  house  of  the  Chiang 
family  ''  name  of  street.  安姻袋 an'  yen'  tai's  to  fit 
the  mouth  piece  of  pipe.  In  the  afore-said  street 
there  is  a  pipe-shop.  王 奶奶" the  old  lady 
Wang  '•  there  is  a  temple  dedicated  to  her.  She 
was  a  very  good  and  religious  woman  who  lived 
during  the  present  dynasty  and  who  after  her 
death  was  thought  to  have  become  a  saint  spirit, 
so  that  temples  were  erected  to  her.  k'en^,  to 
gnaw  ；  this  is  naturally  purely  imaginary  as  the 
good  lady  had  lost  all  her  teeth  a  very  long  time 
before.  火藥局 huo"-  yao'  chii'》，  the  powder  factory. 
兩 頭兒多 liang'  t'oa-'  r  tuo,  each  part  has  the  same 
lenght.  多 is  here  for 長 ch'ang'.  王八竊 uang-  pa' 
110，，  a  nest  of  turtles;  this  imaginary  lair  is  thought  to 
give  a  saucy  and  witty  end  to  the  song.  媳湯鍋 
ts'uan'  fang'  kuo',  they  jump  in  the  broth  kettle. 
These  words  arc  purely  absurd. 


一  m  一 


TRANSLATION 
Near  the  Ping-tso-men  they  draw  long- 
bows ― next  there  is  the  temple  Ch'ao-t  ien- 
kung  ―  "  Ch'ao-t'ien-kung  "  is  written  on  the 
temple  in  big  characters  ―  next  there  is  the 
temple  of  the  white  Pagoda.  ―  In  the  white 
pagoda  people  come  to  give  Buddha  a  red  jac- 
ket― next  there  is  the  Horse  mart  bridge.  ―  Near 
the  Horse  mart  bridge,  take  three  jumps  ―  and 
there  is  the  temple  of  T'i-wang.  ―  near  this 
temple,  shake  the  gourd  ―  next  there  are  the 
four  archs.  ―  At  the  east  of  the  four  archs  ―  and 
at  the  west  of  the  four  archs  ―  and  under  the 
four  archs  old  clothes  are  sold  ―  you  ask  how 
much  for  these  old  clothes  ？  ―  you  strike  a  light 
smoke  a  pipe  ―  you  go  on  and  get  to  the  "  Corner 
of  the  Mao  family  ，，.  一  Near  the  corner  of  the 
Mao  family  one  is  pricked  by  a  thorn  ―  after  that 
comes  a  "  temple  for  the  protection  of  the 
State  "  ―  near  the  "  temple  for  the  protection  of 
the  State  ，,  they  sell  large  willow-pecks  ―  after 
that  there  comes  "  the  mouth  of  the  new  street  ― 
near  the  "  mouth  of  the  new  street,  they  sell 
sugar  sticks  ―  after  that  is  "  the  house  of  the 
Chiang  family  ―  in  "  the  house  of  the  Chiang 
family  '，  they  fit  together  smoking  pipes  ―  after 
that  there  is  the  temple  of  old  lady  Wang.  —  Old 
lady  Wang  gnaws  the  peel  of  a  melon  ―  next 
comes  the  powder  factory  ―  near  the  powder 
factory  they  sell  steel  needles  ―  after  that  there 


― 159  ― 


IS  the  wall  ―  the  wall  is  of  the  same  lenght 
on  both  sides  一  after  that  comes  a  nest  of 
turtles  ―  in  fine  weather  they  warm  that  shells  in 
the  sunshine  ―  and  in  bad  weather  they  spring  in 
the  hoth-pot. 


GXV 


NOTES 

The  first  two  verses  are  the  common  t'ou--tzu 
which  has  nothing  to  do  with  what  follows.  海 
菊 haP  ch'ie-,  the  egg  plant  fruit.  The  Chinese 
pretend  to  see  in  the  moon  a  hare,  to  which  they 
give  offerings  on  the  fifteenth  of  the  8"'  moon. 


爺  紅靑 , 

兒  個兒笑 S 

兎  供裏皮 i" 外 

是  洪紅 瓜哈分 

的  亂 兒 西的兒 


供  兒 兒花 的吃光 

紫茄裏 白紅馬 中枝子 兒爺的 

> ^海月 來來光 當豆冠 月亮夜 

紫大八 自自月 供毛鷄 圓月今 


― ― 


This  hare  is  called 鬼兒爺 t'u-'  r  ye'.  自來白 
tzu*  lai-  pai-,  "  naturally  white  '•  a  sort  of  white  cake. 
自 來 紅 tzu'  lai-  hung",  "  naturally  red',  —  a  cake 
with  sugar  on  it.  5{lma:;,r,  a  picture  on  which 
is  drawn  the  moon.  Inside  the  moon  the  hare 
is  sun  piling  drugs  in  a  mortar.  This  picture 
is  burned  after  the  offering.  當 中 tang'  chung' , 
in  the  middle.  毛 豆枝兒 soy  beans  are  offered 
to  the  rabbit,  as  this  animal  is  very  fond  of  this  food. 
亂 拱 '洪 luan"  hung'  hung',  disorderly  irreg-ularly,  said 
of  the  beans  on  the  branches.  鶴冠子 chi'  kuan' 
tzu,  the  cocks  comb  flower.  紅 裹個紅 hung-  Vv  ko'' 
hung-,  "  red  in  the  red  ''  very  red.  圓 月 兒 yiian-' 
yuC'  r,  like  the  round  moon .  The  water  melon 
which  is  called  on  this  occasion 團 (11 西瓜 t  uan- 
yuan'  hsi'  kua^  (  the  meeting  melon  ■)  is  cut  in  as  many 
slices  as  there  arc  persons  in  the  family. 


TRANSLATION 

Purple  or  nut  purple  ―  the  biq;  fruit  of  the 
egg-plant  ?  ―  In  the  eighth  moon  Lord  Rabbit  is 
worsh  pped  ―  white  cakes  ―  brown  cakes  ―  the 
picture  of  the  moon  ―  is  worshipped  and  plaVed 
in  the  middle  ―  the  soy  beans  are  in  disorder" ― 
the  cockscomb  flowers  are  of  the  deepest-red  ― 
the  peel  of  the  melon  offered  to  the  moon  is  dark  ― 
the  Lord  moon  eats  and  laughs  heartily  ―  to-night 
the  moonlight  is  brighter  than  usual. 


― 161  ― 


廟 

個和尙 


NOTES 

跑馬 or 跑 獅 的 p'ao'  ma'  hsie''  ti,  circus 
riders.  上刀山 shang''  tao'  shan',  lit.  "  to  climb  on 
the  sword  mountain  ，，  is  the  name  for  an  exercise 
seen  very  often  in  our  circuses  ；  that  of  jumping 
from  one  side  of  a  row  of  standing  swords 
to  the  other.  天 錯 ch'ao"?  t'ien',  teng'-,  "  the  staff 
looking  towards  the  sky  "  other  feat  of 
deyterity  which  consists  in  raising  one's  leg  up 
perpendicularly  turning  the  foot-sole  to  the  sky. 

朝天 teng'  ch*ao-  t'ien',  the  same  phrase  as  before 
in  a  different  form.  . 

TRANSLATION 
We  say  "  set  sail  ，，  and  the  ship  starts  ―  the 
-  11 


王 一 杆 戲山兒 錢天 

^ 船南 大兒旗 子刀線 籃天朝 

g 開江 個邊個 封上根 根朝錄 

C 就 一  一一一 馬有 兩的的 

船船 有廟兒 有跑上 紅搬搬 

開了 南王邊 年年山 根的的 

說 開江大 一 今過刀 兩男女 


一  162  一 


ship  is  in  motion  and  we  go  downwards  to  Kiang- 
nan  ―  in  Kiang-nan  there  is  a  big  temple  to  the 
great  king  of  heaven  ―  at  each  side  of  the  Tai- 
wang-miao  there  is  a  priest  ―  and  at  each  side  a 
flagstaff  ―  this  year  there  are  a  couple  of  theatrical 
performances  ―  and  next  year  there  will  be 
circusriders  and  "  jumping  on  the  swords  ,，  一  on 
the  row  of  swords  there  are  four  threads  ―  two  of 
them  are  red  and  two  are  blue  ―  the  men  perform 
the  feat  of  "  the  stirrup  looking  to  the  sky  ― 
and  the  women  perform  the  feat  of  the  "  stirrup 
which  looks  to  the  sky. 


哭 

哥哭 ，了 

哥 也哭齊  風 鐘找道 

n 三 娘別坐  陣 門黎知 

^ 車車 你娘樹 一 打疾誰 

C 的上 娘三兒 娘 娘花娘 

穀 兒娘我 猎鐺三 三開親 

粒孩 @着 麻鈴我 我黎想 

賴女 叫等芝 掛想想 «誰 


NOTES 

拉拉穀 la'  la'  ku\  sort  of  a  locust.   The  begin- 


一  163  一 


ning  of  the  song  is  hard  to  translate.  In  the  second 
verse  there  begins  to  be  light.  三 娘 san>  niang -'， 
perhaps  it  is  meant  her  uncles  wife,  the  uncle  being 
the  third  in  his  family.  坐齊了  tsuo'  ch'i-  la,  to 
sit  together,  in  full  number.  芝麻 措兒 樹 chih' 
ma'  chie''  r  shu',  the  sesamus  plant.  This  verse 
and  the  following  form  a  sort  of 頭子 in  the  very 
middle  of  the  song,  and  it  is  hard  to  guess  why  a 
bell  is  spoken  of  as  being  attached  to  that  plant. 
一 陣風 i'  cben"  feng' ,  my  thought  goes  as  quick  as 
a  gust  of  wind. 打 門 鐘 ta、'  men-  chung",  it  seems  to 
me  as  if  I  were  striking  the  door-bell.  蒋黎花 5i 
chi-  li-  bua'Y,  caltrop  flowers. 


TRANSLATION 

The  locust  cart  and  the  third  brother  (？) ― 
when  I,  the  girl  sit  down  in  the  cart,  my  mother 
also  weeps  ―  I  say  once  :  mother,  mother  do  not 
weep  ―  wait  till  the  third  aunt  sits  also  and  then 
、veep  ―  on  the  sesamum-tree  there  hangs  a  bell  ― 
thinking  of  my  aunt  my  thought  travels  as  quick 
as  a  guest  of  wind  ―  thinking  of  my  aunt  methinks 
I  am  striking  the  door-bell  at  home.  ―  where  the 
caltrops  open  their  flowers  there  you  may  look  for 
them  一  only  those  can  understand  me  who  long  so 
for  their  mother. 


一  164  ― 


CXVIII 


兒 


NOTES 

The  toilet  of  a  young  lady  is  here  described. 
鎖 suo3，  to  hem  clothes,  to  work  a  sort  of  embroidery 
at  the  edges  of  a  dress.  狗 牙 兒 kou^ya-'r,  pattern 
of  embroidery  in  form  of  small  triangles  resembling 
dog's  teeth.  騎, 馬德兒 chi?  ma^  suei^'  r，  a  row  of 
cut  hair  left  standing  just  before  the  plaited  hair. 
摔 鍋圈兒 ning'  kuo'  ch'uan''r,  small  braids  plaited 
on  children'  s  heads.  辩 德 兒 pien-  suei'V,  the  silk 
tassel  at  the  end  of  a  pigtail.  辩花兒 pien'«  hua''  r， 
the  knots  of  a  braid.  聰香玉 腹"' hsiang>  yii''，  the 
tuberose.    藹 康尖兒 a   shoot  of  Ocyminn 


牙  兒兒兒 

狗  玉 尖臉線 

兒子着  香 康道道 

三兒婶 鎖  腕藹 一  一 

小 拌的兒 兒兒兒 兒兒着 着子鞋 

兒 打縐溻 蹋穗圑 穗花掖 掖機兒 

三麼 洋汗汙 揚鍋 辩游邊 邊白臉 

小 甚靑白 白騎摔 靑緊左 右魚雙 


一  165  一 


basil i cum  (  sweet  basil ).  魚白 yu<!  pai',  as  white 
as  a  fish  skin  ；  white  with  a  greenish  shade  of 
colour.  ^  臉 兒 i'  tao''  lien"'  r，  "  with  one  surfa- 
ce this  means  that  no  seam  is  to  be  seen  on  the 
socks.  ~- - 道 線 兒 i'  tao'  hsien"  r，  the  two  leather 
strings  which  come  on  the  shoe  are  as  thin  as  a 
thread. 

TRANSLATION 
Small  San'r,  small  SanV  ―  what  dress  are  you 
wearing  ？  ―  I  have  got  dark  crape  trowsers  一  and 
a  white  shirt  一  on  the  white  shirt  are  embroidered 
'-^  dog's  teeth  "  ―  on  the  head  I  have  a  row  of 
standing  hair  ―  and  some  small  braids  ―  a  dark 
tassel  for  my  pigtail  ―  and  the  pigtail  is  plaited 
very  tight  ―  on  the  left  of  my  hair  I  have  stuck  a 
tuberose  ―  and  on  the  right  a  head  of  sweet 
basil  ―  I  have  too  white  socks  with  no  seam  ― 
and  my  shoes  have  leather  strings  as  thin  as  a 
thread. 


頭 子 

兒  落 

糕了頭 把子沒 

K 切掉磚 兩票娘 

g 扔都扔 的扔姑 

兒兒兒 兒道 

牆豆牆 妞牆知 

着兒着 了着麽 

隔 隔 § 隔怎 


― 166  ― 


NOTES 

I  do  not  think  that  this  song  can  be  properly 
understood  by  children,  but  the  fact  is  that  numbers 
of  them  sing  these  verses  the  meaning  of  which  is 
rather  equivocal.  It  alludes  to  a  man  who  tries  to 
win  a  young  girl  in  different  comical  ways.  切 
糕 ch'iei  kao'，  slices  of  pudding  made  with  flower, 
dates  and  leng  beans.  兩 把兒頭 liang:''  pa''  r  t，ou'， 
"a  head  with  two  handles  ，，  Chinese  name  for  the 
manchu  women's  head-gear.  This  leads  one  to 
suppose  that  this  rhyme  originated  from  bannermen. 
沒落子 mei.、)  lao'i  tzu，  means  literally  has  not  a 
halting-place,  a  refuge-and  then,  to  be  in  a 
miserable  condition,  to  be  poor,  not  to  know  where 
to  go. 

TRANSLATION 

From  outside  the  wall  he  throws  slices  of 
pudding  ―  the  dates  and  the  long  beans  all  fell  to 
the  ground.  ―  From  outside  the  wall  he  throws 
lumps  of  bricks  ―  and  has  broken  the  girl's 
manchu  head-gear  ―  from  outside  the  wall  he 
throws  bank-notes  ―  how  does  he  know  that  the 
girl  has  no  means  ？ 


cxx 


廟裏 的和尙 拉大鎖 

挨家兒 搖鈴鐺 


一  167  ― 


NOTES 

This  song  is  one  of  the  less  devotional 
towards  the  buddhist  priests  and  is  widely  sung  in 
Peking  by  children  and  grown  people.  大 鎖 ta'* 
suo:''，  a  large  chain  which  the  priests  fasten  to  their 
neck  and  drag  around  when  travelling  about  to 
collect  alms.  Sometimes,  in  order  to  excite  pity 
and  devotion,  this  chain  is  made  so  heavy  that  the 
help  of  a  second  man  is  required  to  drag  it  along. 
挨家兒 ai'  chia''  r,  from  one  house  to  the  other  in 
succession.  化月米 hua''  yiic  mi:',  to  collect  the 
monthly  rice.  Many  families  are  in  the  habit  of 
giving  every  month  a  quantity  of  rice  to  certain 


廟 

賣  樓 

杆要兒 覺  钉 

米 旗不攤 着娘 頃經不 ^髮行 

月  了全小 生>^：^ 大念香 茶頭修 

化聲 典袍擺 花睡大 拿麽燒 打留不 

尙十 尙道尙 落尙兒 尙怎尙 的尙的 

和嘆 和兒和 的和壁 和子和 兒和兒 

的兒的 魚的抓 的隔的 脾的. 瞎的字 

裏家 裏勒裏 把裏着 赛了裏 兒裹個 

廟 挨廟摩 廟大廟 想廟踡 廟叮廟 一 


一  168  一 


temples.  The  first  and  fifteenth  of  the  month  a 
priest  goes  around  with  a  coolie  who  bears  a  barril 
to  collect  the  offerings.  摩勒 魚兒 muo?  lo'  yii-'  r， 
a  wooden  drum  in  the  shape  of  a  fish'head  ；  this 
instrument  is  beaten  during  the  ceremonies,  and 
is  also  taken  round  by  almsbegging  priests  who 
carry  it  on  their  back  tied  by  a  cord.  道 tao^  p'ao-, 
the  priests  ceremonial  dress.  落花生 luo;  hua' 
shengi,  ground  nuts.  拿 大 ]^  na-  ta'-  ting^,  to  stand 
on  one's  head,  as  jugglers  do.  韓 ch'ing'*,  a  copper 
instrument  struck  during  a  religious  service.  一 
個字兒 i'  koi  tzu''  r,  "in  one  word  ，，  altogether, 
with  no  exception.  修 行 hsiu'  hsing^  to  perfect 
and  reform  one's  character,  as  Chinese  priests  are 
supposed  to  do  in  their  temples. 

TRANSLATION 

The  priest  of  the  temple  drags  a  heavy 
chain  ―  and  goes  from  one  house  to  the  other 
ringing  a  bell  一  the  priest  of  the  temple  goes  out 
for  the  monthly  rice  ―  and  from  house  to  house 
he  sighs  ten  times,  ―  the  priest  in  the  temple  has 
mortgaged  the  flag-staffs  and  has  sold  the  temple  ― 
and  he  does  not  want  either  the  fish-drum  or  the 
ceremonial  4re«s  ―  the  priest  in  the  temple 
has  prepared  a  small  fruit  stall  一  (  and  says ) 
" ground  nuts,  a  big  handful  of  them  ！  ―  The 
priest  in  the  temple  cannot  sleep  ―  because  he  is 
thinking  of  the  neighbour's  elder  daughter  ―  the 
priest  in  the  temple  stands  on  his  head  ―  but 


一  169  一 


having  sprained  his  neck  how  could  he  read  the 
sacred  books  ？  一  The  priest  in  the  temple  does 
not  strike  the  copperdrum  ―  but  ding  dong  ！  he 
strikes  instead  the  tea-cup  ―  the  priest  in  the 
temple  lets  his  hair  grow  ―  and  does  not  care  a 
bit  about  the  improvement  of  his  moral  conduct. 


CXXI 

兒 

着一項 困秋蝸 

着一 枝鳳頭 4^ 

NOTES 

This  song  is  sung  by  children  who  play  at 
making  mud-pies.  藤 泥 chiao'  ni-,  the  clay  mixed 
up  with  water  becomes  sticky  like  glue.  泥辩兒 
ni'  pan'''  r，  a  block  of  clay.  使勁摔 shih*  ching^'  r 
shuai',  cast  it  with  force  on  the  ground.  Before 
the  clay  is  fit  to  be  put  into  the  moulds,  it  must  be 
rendered  softer  and  that  result  is  obtained  by 
beating  the  clay  repeatedly  on  the  ground.  刻， 
read  here  k'oi  and  not  k，o'、  to  mould.  The  moulds 
sold  to  the  boys  in  the  streets  are  of  different 
forms  and  some  of  them  have  the  form  of  a  man  or 


兒摔爺 兒戴戴 

瓣 兒爺奶 兒兒 

泥勁了 奶爺奶 

滕使刻 刻爺奶 


—— 170 —— 


of  a  woman.  困 秋 k'un'*  c,iu'  mao''，  an  old  round 
hat.  鳳頭叙 fengi  tW  ch'ai',  a  hair-pin  for 
women  ；  it  means  literally  a  phoenix-head  pin. 

TRANSLATION 

The  sticky  clay  blocks  ―  first  we  throw  them 
on  the  ground,  and  then  we  mould  out  a  gentleman 
― we  mould  out  a  lady  ―  the  gentleman  wears  on 
old  round  hat  ―  and  the  lady  a  phoenix-head 
hairpin. 


CXXII 

到 

脚 

花 炮 

NOTES 

These  words  are  pronounced  while  sacrificing 
to  the  god  of  the  stoves  near  the  end  of  the  year. 
裹 脚 kuo"'  chiao",  ankle  bands  for  ladies  trowsers. 
At  the  New-year  and  the  days  which  precede  it, 
every  body  tries  to  dress  well  and  to  look  his 
best.  小 満 氣 兒 hsiao )  t'ao'  ch，i''，r，  general  nickname 
given  to  children  meaning  the  small  impertinent. 
花 炮 hua'  p'ao',  crackers. 


來毯 裹要 

年耍 要來 

新 * 來過 

竈過過 

祭 子子氣 

竈頭婆 g 

祭 老老小 


一  171  ― 

TRANSLATION 
Sacrifice  to  the  god  of  the  stoves,  Sacrifice  to 
the  god  of  the  stoves,  the  new-year  has  arrived  ― 
the  old  man  comes  over  and  wants  a  felt-hat  ―  the 
old  lady  comes  over  and  wants  anklebands  ―  the 
impertinent  youngster  comes  over  and  wants 
crackers. 


^  .力 f 

個  克  着 ij^ 疼  M 

一  東  昝去怪  知 

獨  山  子兒兒  3 '誰 

活  到  叔台手  的難 

滴^ 養冼臥 聘.^ 婆 小井小 鳥扎受 

滴 草媽盆 盆聘個 個個他 的上兒 #1 

滴上 他金龈 一 十十十 勒樹^ 受 


NOTES 

滴 滴 滴 ti'  ti'  ti'，  imitates  the  noise  made  by 


一  1 72  一 


a  chicken.  克 k'o',  an  unusual  pronunciation  of  the 
word  去 ch'ii',  to  go.  It  is  specially  used  by 
bannermen  and  old  fashioned  people.  小 叔 子 
hsiao:'' shu?  tz3，  husband's  younger  brothers.  井"^ 
兒 ching:'' t，ai、'，  r，  the  well  step.  勒手 lei' shou^  "  to 
have  one's  hands  strangled  ,，  that  is  to  say  to  hurt 
one's  hands  by  pulling  with  a  rope.  卩支 兒 扎 chih'V 
chai,  is  supposed  to  imitate  the  birds  chattering. 
難  nan's  in  the  fourth  tone,  means  adversity, 
trouble. 

TRANSLATION 

The  chicken  screaming  ―  flies  on  the  grass- 
stack.  ― Her  mother  had  reused  only  her  ―  she 
washed  in  a  gold  basin  ―  she  slept  in  a  silver 
basin  ―  and  then  they  married  her  in  the 
Shan-tung  ―  ( it  looks  as  if  she  had  )  ten  fathers-in- 
law  ― and  ten  mothers-in-law  一  and  ten  bro- 
thers-in-law to  watch  her  ―  now  they  let  her  go 
to  the  well  to  draw  water  ―  and  her  small  hands 
are  swollen  with  the  great  pain  ―  the  birds  on 
the  trees  ―  chatter  merrily  ―  who  knows  that  I 
am  suffering  bitterness  and  pain  ?. 


CXXIV 


嫁 

0 

姑 

爺堂的 

亮堂坊 

月亮街 


― 173  ― 


NOTES 

餘兒粉 tingi'  r  fen\  an  inferior  quality  of 
cosmetic  powder  in  square  pieces.  棒兒香 pang ；， r 
hsiang',  an  incense  stick.  棉 花 晒 脂 mien-  hua'  yen' 
chih',  small  cotton  strip  of  cloth  imbued  with  cos- 
metic rouge,  to  paint  women's  lips. 

TRANSLATION 
The  father-moon  ―  is  bright  and  shining  一 
the  neighbour's  girl  wants  her  bridal  presents  ― 
squares  of  cosmetic   powder  ―  incense  sticks  ― 
and  two  hundred  rouge  cotton-strips. 


GXXV 


0 


粉香雇 

兒兒花 

S 棒棉 


維 

上  誰 

兒  娘艫妹 

船  親後妹 

小  想上哥 

在  兒哥 

樹 我飯湯 碗碗聲 

鎮賣米 兒飯飯 一 

枝鈴 娘子魚 起下了 

松褂 親接小 端擱哭 


一  174  ― 


親 娘 
我 想 


想 一  m 風 
親娘在 夢 中 


NOTES 


The  first  two  verses  form  the  common 
introduction.  The  word 松 枝 兒樹 sung' chih"  r 
shu',  means  literally  a  fir-branched  tree,  that  is  the 
same  as 松 樹 sung'  shu'-,  a  fir-tree.  梭子米 suo'- 
tzu  mi:!，  a  coarse  quality  of  rice  ；  the  character  is 
not  to  be  found  in  any  dictionary,  but  is  currently 
written  as  above.  The  words  are  supposed  to  be 
uttered  by  a  small  boy  who  has  been  sold  by  his 
mother  to  be  a  small  servant  on  a  boat.  ~ ■ 陣 風 
i'  cben''  feng',  here,  as  quick  as  a  gale  of  wind. 

TRANSLATION 

On  the  fir-tree  ―  there  is  a  small  bell  ―  my 
own  mother  has  sold  me  on  board  a  boat  ―  ( I  eat 
here )  course  rice  ―  and  fish  broth  ―  taking  the 
rice-bowl  to  my  mouth  I  think  of  my  mother  ― 
when  I  lay  down  the  rice-bowl  then  I  go  to  the 
stern  rooms  ―  and  I  shed  some  tears  saying  : 
brothers,  sisters,  which  of  us  thinks  of  each  other? 
― the  care  of  my  mother  for  me  has  been  as 
fleeting  as  a  squall  of  wind  ―  but  I  think  of  my 
mother  in  my  dreams. 


― 1  /o  ― 


CXXVI 


NOTES 

黄 豆 huang'  tou^  a  small  sort  of  yellow  haricot 
( Phaseolns  flavus  ).  圓上圓  yiian'  shang''  yiian'. 
" round  on  round  "  that  means*very  much  round  - 
The  song  is  taken  from  the  country  and  that  may  be 
observed  in  some  phrases  different  from  the  pure 
Pekinese.  For  instance  the  last  verse  says  : 燒 
茶袁飯 shao'  ch,a'  chu::  fan's  instead  of  ^  fiS. 

ch'i'  ch，a?  chu^  fan'',  to  prepare  tea  and  food. 

TRANSLATION 

The  yellow  haricot  ―  is  completely  round  ― 
bearing  a  daughter,  she  is  worth  no  money  ―  just 
as  much  as  two  bits  of  bean-curd  and  two  ounces 
of  wine.  ―  when  we  send  her  to  her  mother-in- 
law's  house  ―  the  mother-in-law  says  :  her  feet 
are  large  and  her  face  is  ugly  ―  the  father-in-law 


酸 viae 

iK 着 

錢酒 口臉 他 

値兩門 大罷用 

不 二 大 也着也 

S  頭 腐婆脚 飯 

粒圓 丫豆^ 說說赏 

豆上 活瑰在 gf-4I 茶 

g 圓養三 送婆. ^燒 


― 176  一 

says  ：  let  her  stay,  let  her  stay  I  ―  she  can  be  use- 
ful for  boiling  tea  and  cooking  food. 


CXXVII 


NOTES 

相 樹 pai:'  shu',  the  cypress.  The  branches  of 
fir  and  cypress  ar§  burned  in  some  offerings  to  the 
spirits,  but  here  the  second  verse  has  no  rational 
meaning. 

TRANSLATION 

The  branches  of  fir  and  cypress  ―  are  crushed 
by  a  stone  roller  ( ？ )  ―  I  and  my  elder  sister  both 
marry  ―  my  elder  sister  will  marry  in  the 
mountains  of  the  South  ―  and  I  will  marry  in  the 
Northern  bogs. 


CXXVIII 

一 個毽兒 


嫁裏裏 

出山窪 

同南 ±？ 

兒 姐在在 

枝軋 姐嫁嫁 

栢子 跟姐妹 

松^ 我姐妹 


― 177  ― 


NOTES 

The  shuttle-cok  is  kicked  by  boys  but  the  girls 
push  the  ball  with  their  hands  and  this  is  called 柏 
p'aii.  Sometimes  while  playing  they  sing  some 
rhymes,  one  of  which  I  present  to  the  reader.  柏 
兩辦兒 p'ai'  liang"'  pan"'  r,  is  struck  so  hard  as  to  be 
broken  in  two  pieces.  打 花 鼓 §2  ta:*  hua' ku^, 
sort  of  musical  amusement  consisting  of  a  song- 
accompanied  by  drum  beating  performed  generally 
by  girls.  This  drum  beating  is  accompanied  by 
various  evolutions  of  the  arms,  non  unlike  the 
movement  of  pushing  the  shuttle-cok. ―  繞花 
線 兒 jao'i  huai  bsien',  r，  another  game.  The  player 
places  the  shuttle-cok  on  his  foot,  kicks  it  in  the  air, 
awaits  its  falling  down,  and  just  before  it  touches 
the  ground,  he  turnes  the  foot  down  round  it  and 
kicks  it  up  again.  裏拐夕 |^ 拐 liu' kai;  uai' kuaP， 
pushing  inside  and  pushing  outside  the  shuttle-cok. 

TRANSLATION 

A  shuttle-cok  ―  is  kicked  up  and  broken  in 

1-2 


百 

兒兒兒 柺海個 

辧鼓線 外過九 

兩花花 柺仙十 

柏打繞 裏八九 


一  178  一 


two  pieces  一  beat  the  drum  ―  pick  up  the 
shuttle-cock.  ―  push  inside,  push  outside  ―  the 
eight  genii  cross  the  sea  ―  ninety  nine  and  a 
hundred. 


NOTES 

掷 掷 pang!  pang',  imitates  the  knock  at  the 
door.  汪 '/王 uang'  uang's  the  barking  of  a  dog.  毛 
驢 兒 mao?  lii-,  r，  a  common  name  for  an  ass, 
instead  of  the  simple 驢 兒 lii"  r.  A  slang  word 
for  it  is 毛團 兒 mao-  t'uan-  'r  ；  here  the  rice-seller  is 
supposed  to  advertise  his  wares  in  the  last  four 
verses.  量 餘兒的 Hang?  k'ang'  ，r  ti^,  rice  and 
husks  together,  rice  which  has  not  b^en  winnowed. 
雜 淨兒的 Puo3  chingi'  r  ti,  clean  rice  with  no  husks. 


K 梆汪 

^ 梆 汪誰兒 

c 得得 5^ 驩  的的 

敲咬 一 毛米的 的兒兒 

兒 兒說着 着粗細 糖淨 

門 狗我騎 扛要 要量簸 


一  179  一 


TRANSLATION 

People  knock  at  the  door  ―  and  the  dog 
barks  ―  I  ask  once,  who  is  there  ？  ―  (the  rice 
seller )  rides  an  ass  —  and  bears  the  rice  on  his 
back.  ―  (he  says )  do  you  want  coarse  rice  ？  ―  do 
you  want  fine  rice  ？  ―  here  is  rice  and  husk, ― 
and  here  is  winnowed  rice. 


cxxx 

小 蟠千兒 
p 屬 

NOTES 

跳讚讚 52  t'iao*  tsuan<  tsuan''  r，  hopping  and 
jumping.  爐 千 1J2  la*  c'ien"  r，  a  Chinese  candlestick. 
When  boys  have  not  yet  hair  enough  to  comb  a 
pigtail,  sometimes  their  hair  is  bound  up  in  a  small 
plait  which  stands  perpendicularly  on  the  top  of 
the  head.  八宗藝 pa'  tsung-  eight  kinds  of 
abilities.  椅 鐘 chuang'  chung'%  lit.  "to  strike  the 
bell  ,.  A  game  practised  by  boys  who  each  throw 
a  piece  of  cash  against  a  wall.  The  greater  or 
lesser  distance  to  which  the  cash  rebounds  from 


0 藝 汀 

着宗帶 

兒兒 上了球 

氣鑕兒 *sl 

陶鑕 瓜入鐘 

小跳 腦一撩 


一  180  一 


the  wall  makes  one  the  winner  or  loser.  外 帶 uai^ 
tai's  and  furthermore. 

TRANSLATION 

The  impertinent  youngster  ―  goes  hopping 
and  jumping  ―  he  has  a  "  candle  ,,  toupet  on  his 
head  ―  he  himself  has  mastered  eight  sorts  of 
abilities  —  he  can  play  at  "bell-striking"  at  foot- 
ball and  also  at  wood  ball. 


CXXXI 

m 
m 

麫錢 不拿來 
拿 來 
來 

燎 

了個 大窻薩 

NOTES 

逛 燈 kuangi  teng',  a  festival  from  the  13"，  to  the 
17th  of  the  first  moon.  In  the  evening  lanterns  are 
hung  out  by  shops  and  private  houses.  小 脚兒燈 
hsiaos  chiao:"  r  teng' .  A  lantern  shaped  in  the  form  of 
a  Chinese  small  foot.  The  introduction  to  this  song 


兒兒 的兒拿 燈兒登 

羅羅 我會燈 麽脚登 

打 曳該多 逛甚小 I 


一  181  ― 


is  identical  with  another  translated  before.  澄 
is  pronounced  like  "lantern''  therefore  the  pun. 

TRANSLATION 

Strike  the  sieve  and  sift  ―  drag  the  sieve  and 
sift  ―  you  owe  me  money  for  flour  and  do  not  pay 
me  ―  when  will  you  bring  it  here  ？  ―  At  the 
festival  of  Lanterns  I'll  bring  it  ―  what  lantern  ？ ― 
The  small  foot  lantern.  ―  walking  on  it  I  made  a 
big  hole  in  it. 


CXXXII 

小 大 姐 
m 十 八 


4? 兒花 

0  胡幕枝 

大  絲州 一 

子  血蘇 捕大八 

鋸 橫的個 斜麽寸 

的 粉兒秣 一 兒多二 

臉兒 意脂着 角蓮量 

滿桃 任網梳 變金橫 


NOTES 

小 大 姐 hsiao^  ta''  chie',  the  young  lady.  The 
picture  is  humourous.     雜子 chii，  tzu，  "  a  saw  "  it 


一  182  一 


refers  to  the  fact  that  after  the  small  pox  the  sk,n 
of  the  face  sometimes  is  glued  together  thus  forming 
a  scar  and  a  small  pimple  on  it.  i^fe 兒 粉 t'ao-'r  fen:!, 
red  cosmetic  powder  sold  in  peach  like  beads. 
血絲胡 iu,  read  almost  in  one  word  hsie?'  sz-hu-li  I 
have  only  adopted  these  characters  in  order  to  write 
down  the  sound  as  spoken;  the  general  meaning  is  to 
look  as  if  besmeared  with  blood  ― 橫釁 heng-  Hang-, 
measuring  the  size  of  the  foot.  The  smallest  foot 
is  three  inches. 

TRANSLATION 
The  young  lady  ―  has  just  reached  her  eigh- 
teenth year  ―  she  has  the  face  full  of  pimples  and 
scars  ―  with  red  cosmetic  ―  she  rubs  all  over  the 
face  to  her  heart  s  desire  and  then  she  combs  her 
hair  into  a  Soo-chow  chignon  一  near  the  temple 
she  sticks  a  flower  in  her  hair  ―  how  big  is  her 
foot  ？  ―  altogether  two  inches  and  eight  tenths  of 
an  inch. 


cxxxm 


高  0 

麽  切 

這  賣 

的  板 

長 馬刀案 

見 的的的 

兒嫁不 我我我 

S 的年 着着着 

我我三 騎拿杜 


一  183  ― 


TRANSLATION 
My  son  ―  my  treasure  ―  during  the  three 
years  that  I  have  not  seen  you,  you  have  grown  so 
tall  ―  riding  my  horse  ―  taking  my  swoard  一 
bearing  on  your  shoulder  my  kneading-board  and 
selling  slices  of  pudding. 


CXXXIV 

鬼 

NOTES 

豆芽荣 iou'  ya'  ts'ai'*,  bean  sprouts  commonly 
eaten  in  China.  水翁 shaeF  p'eng'  p'eng»,  flowing 
with  water  ；  these  sprouts  are  put  in  water  to  keep 
them  fresh. 

TRANSLATION 

The  bean  sprouts  ―  are  dripping  with  water 
― who  is  the  wife  who  dares  to  beat  her  father  in 
law  ？  ―  the  father-in-law  beats  her  with  his  stick 
― and  the  woman  only  lets  her  sleeve  down  ( with 
anger ). 


. ^拐兒 

打兒口 

兒棍袖 

婦枴着 

媳着拿 

茱 湖的拿 S 

芽 棚家. < ；婦 

豆水 誰.^ 媳 


一  184  一 


CXXXV 


不 來 
姜 女 


兒 

兒 

NOTES 

秦始皇 ch'in-  shih'  huang',  the  emperor  who 
built  the  great  wall  and  who  is  said  to  have  had  buried 
in  it  all  the  men  who  died  during  its  building.  城 
墙 ch'eng-  ch'iang?  "the  fortified  wall"  the  full  name  is 
萬 里長城 uan3  ch'ang2  ch'eng'.  g 兒攀 teng'.'r  chai', 
the  layers  of  brick  are  so  thin  that  a  man  is  able  to 
creep  on  the  wall  as  up  stairs.  孟姜女 Meng*  chiang^ 
nu-\  A  beautiful  woman  whose  husband,  although  a 
hsiou^  ts'aF,  was  forced  to  work  at  the  wall  ；  being  in 
delicate  health  he  died  and  was  buried  in  the 
brickwork.  When  his  wife  came  for  him  and  heard 
of  his  end,  she  knelt  by  the  wall  and  wept 
invoking  Heaven.  She  so  moved  Heaven  that  the 
wall  crumbled  away  at  the  spot  and  showed  her 
husband's  remains  :  she  piously  exhumed  them,  and 


過孟夫 哭天邊 

矮 子 個尋一 聲半 

皇牆兒 窄達 有來牆 一  了 

始 城頭兒 着來里 着了塌 

秦 砌牆磴 擋後千 對哭哭 


― m  一 

took  them  with  her.  She  was  afterwards  rewarded 
by  the  Emperor  who  granted  her  a  precious  belt. 
But  she  was  so  oppressed  with  grief  that  at  last  she 
ran  her  head  against  a  wall  and  died. 

TRANSLATION 

The  Emperor  Shih-huang  ―  built  the  Great 
Wall  ―  the  top  of  the  wall  was  low  ―  and  the  steps 
were  short  ―  to  prevent  the  Tartars  from  crossing 
― There  was  Meng  chiang  nii  ―  who  came  from 
a  thousand  miles  away  to  find  her  husband  ―  then 
wept  in  front  of  the  wall  ―  wept  and  cried  : 
O  Heaven  ！  ―  and  at  her  tears  the  side  of  the  wall 
fell  down. 


CXXXVI 


簡免兒 
3 穿條碑 兒 

NOTES 

This  rhyme  has  no  sense  all  through.  碟 踐 
bsi<  ch'iao's  extraordinary,  uncommon  ；  at  least  it  is 


牛甲 鞍山 I  :j 

個 沒匹沒 南山了 

換牛換 af 上 南剝， 


M 刀怏茱 靑弓頭 

蹊 把不靑 兒把沒 

蹊 換刀切 葉換弓 


一  I8e)  一 


the  only  meaning  and  writing  which  may  reasonably 
agree  with  the  pronunciation  hsi<  ch，iao、 

TRANSLATION 
Very  extraordinary  一  change  a  sword  一  the 
sword  does  not  cut  ―  hash  vegetables  ―  their 
leaves  are  green  ―  change  a  bow  ―  the  bow  has 
no  head  ―  change  an  ox  ―  the  ox  has  no  scales  ― 
change  a  horse  ―  the  horse  has  no  saddle  ―  go  to 
the  South  hills  ―  in  the  southern  hills  there  is  a 
nest  of  hares  ―  from  which  we  take  the  skin  to 
make  a  pair  of  trowsers. 


CXXXVII 


一道縫 
上 塔 

NOTES 

Near  the  P'ing-tso-men  there  is  a  pagoda 
already  spoken  of  in  rhyme  N"i  14.  During  this 
dynasty  it  threatened  to  collapse  and  showed  a 
great  crack.  The  popular  tradition  says  that  just  at 
that  time  somebody  dressed  like  a  mason  walked 
round  and  round  the  place  shouting  the  words.  雜 
大傢 伙兒 chiii  ta''  chia'  huo  '  r  "  mend  the  big 


有了雜 

沒裂來 

磚上下 

寺塔 有兒爺 

塔白 上臺班 

白有 塔塔魯 


一  187  一 


thing  ，，.  A  few  days  after,  with  great  astonishment 
the  candid  Pekinese  observed  that  the  crack  in  the 
pagoda  had  been  repaired  and  on  the  fresh  work 
was  visible  the  mark  of  a  mason's  trowel.  The 
popular  fancy  nowhere  so  wildly  developed  as  in 
China,  directly  connected  this  mysterious  piece  of 
masonry  with  the  workman's  words  and  recognized 
in  him  Lu:''  pan*  ye-,  the  Genius  protector  of  masons 
and  carpenters.  As  to  the  historical  truth  of  the 
work  so  well  executed,  it  may  be  explained  in  two 
ways :  either  the  work  had  been  done  by  govern- 
ment order  and  at  an  uncommon  time  of  the  day : 
or  more  probably  that  crack  had  never  existed. 

TRANSLATION 
At  the  temple  of  Pai-t*a-ssu,  there  is  a  white 
pagoda  ―  on  the  pagoda  there  are  bricks  but  not 
tiles  一  on  the  pagoda's  pedestal  a  gaping  crack 
appeared  ―  and  Lu-pan-ye  himself  came  down  to 
repair  it. 


CXXXVIII 


&  的 s 

鬼水了 腿我你 

子 凉倒了 賠 賠 


一  188  一 


NOTES 

麻 子 鬼 ma-  tzu  kuei  '•,  is  said  jocularly  about 
a  child  much  marked  by  smallpox. 

TRANSLATION 

The  "  small  pox  devil '.'  ―  stealing  the  water  ― 
has  upset  the  bucket  ―  and  has  broken  his  leg  ― 
you  repay  me  for  my  bucket  ―  and  I  will  repay 
you  for  your  leg. 


上 

占！； 頭 

NOTES 

The  hsi::  or  joy  here  alluded,  to  is  the  approval 
at  the  examinations.  (1 區 ou",  means  to  drink,  to 
gulp  down.  三 元 san，  jiian-  ：  a  candidate  who  has 
taken  the  highest  places  at  the  examinations. 
These  words  are  pronounced  by  the  joy-messengers 
報喜的 pao'  hsi''  ti,  when  they  reach  the  door  of 
the  successful  candidate.  獨 占繁頭 chan^  ao< 
t'ou-,  ( the  man  who  has  been  successful  at  the 
last  Hanlin  examinations  is  said  )  to  have  alone 
occupied  the  Ao - fish's  head. 


嘔兒 ® 

頭幾簷 元 

^ 滿嘔^ 三 

X 戴 上在報 

^ 來 斜落喜 

稻 兒兒是 

花 酒鳥的 

喜 喜喜哨 


一  181) ― 


TRANSLATION 

Here  are  the  flowers  of  joy,  pick  them  up  and 
cover  your  head  with  them  ―  here  is  the  wine  of 
joy,  pour  it  out  and  drink  ―  the  birds  of  joy  come 
to  stop  under  the  eaves  ot  the  roof  ―  and  the  news 
they  bear  is  :  the  first  successful  candidate  at  the 
examinations. 


cxxxx 

小 米子 s 

一 頓 勞 

NOTES 

This  rhyme  speaks  jocularly  of  a  little  fellow 
who  is  supposed  to  work  in  order  to  give  himself  a 
treat.  小 米 hsiao:;  mi',  millet  ― 蒸 cheng',  to  steam. 
； !；§  lao',  to  fry  in  a  pan .  搞 勞 k'ao''  lao\  a  treat 
given  on  some  lucky  days,  to  soldiers  or  workmen. 

TRANSLATION 

( The  boy  )  bores  the  heelband  of  the  shoe  ― 
and  stitches  the  shoe  sole  一  he  has  earned  two 
pecks  of  millet  ―  after  a  good  deal  of  steaming  and 


兒兒升 « 的 

子 子二& "娘 

底 了蒸他 

雖納？  圪 


/ 


一  100  ― 


frying  ―  he  eates  a  good  meal  given  to  him  by 
his  mother  as  a  reward. 


NOTES 

明逾煌 ming-  huang-  huang",  extremely  bright. 
裙 桐 u、'  t'ung-,  the  Sterciilia  platau{folia  (Catalpa). 

TRANSLATION 

The  Lord  moon  ―  how  bright  he  is  ―  on 
horse-back  I  go  to  burn  incense  一  the  big  horse  is 
bound  to  the  Catalpa  tree  ―  and  the  small  horse  to 
the  temple  door. 


CXXXXII 


CXXXXI 


上 

香樹兒 

燒桐門 

去 1^ 廟 

HI 在在 

爺煌. <  投拴 

亮煌 着瑪馬 

月明 騎大小 


夫 

S 入  丈 

•M 孩训 M 

一 架你那 

上打子 iiS: 

山 子孩我 

高 口子着 

高 兩孩等 


一  191  一 


NOTES 

The  first  verse  is  a  good  sample  of  those 
extraordinary  introductions. 

TRANSLATION 

On  a  very  high  mountain  there  is  a  lair  of  pigs 
一  a  husband  and  a  wife  quarrel  and  the  child  weeps 
一  child,  child,  do  not  weep  ―  wait  till  I  thrash 
this  old  husband. 


廟門兒 

個 小扭人 a 


愛死 個人兒 

NOTES 

扭 扭 控 控 niu  '  niu!  nie''  nie''，  to  walk  in  a  sweet 
and  graceful  manner. 

TRANSLATION 
A  door  of  the  temple  is  opposite  to  a  door  of 
the  temple  ―  there  lives  a  small  girl  ―  with  white 
cheeks  一  and  red  lips  —  she  walks  so  nicely  that 
she  makes  people  die  of  love. 


g 對養 兒兒樘 

兒住 蛋唇惶 

門 頭臉嘴 

廟裏 白紅扭 


― 192  一 


CXXXXIV 


NOTES 

鳥, read  here  niao'  and  not  niao-  ―  the  word  has 
no  sense  and  is  purely  phonetical.  % 腰 mao-  yao'， 
the  person  spoken  of  being  so  tall,  must  stoop  down 
to  take  his  food.  抄 ch'ao'  (  written  some  times  when 
in  this  sense  with  another  vulgar  character )  means 
here  to  lift  up  somebody  by  catching  him  under  the 
armpits.    湊 chiao,  to  water,  to  poor  down  water. 

TRANSLATION 

Hallo  ！  一  he  is  really  tall  ―  when  he  wants  to 
eat  ―  he  must  stoop  down  ―  when  he  wants  to 
fight  ―  he  lifts  his  adversary  under  the  arms  ― 
when  he  wants  to  wash  his  face  ―  he  pour^s  water 
down  on  it  ( rather  than  to  sto'f)  down  to  the  basin). 

、  A 


cxxxxv 

這 個人生 來性兒 

淸 晨早起 去超集 


架 抄臉燒 

打 手冼水 

要 用要拿 

鳥 兒餓腰 

鳥 身要先 


一  193  一 

錯穿了 緑布辣 
倒騎着 一頭驢 

NOTES 

緑布械 1*^'  k，u'',  trowsers  made  of  green 
cloth,  trowsers  for  a  woman.  The  man  in  his  haste 
had  put  on  his  wife's  trowsers.  倒 騎 tao''  ch'i^ 
to  ride  with  the  head  turned  to  the  animars  tail. 

TRANSLATION 

This  man  is  very  hasty  by  nature  ―  early  in 
the  morning  he  started  for  the  fair  一  and  he  had 
put  on  by  mistake  his  wife's  trowsers  ―  and  was 
riding  with  his  head  towards  the  donkey's  tail. 


GXLVI 


兒兒兒 

兒肩飯 灣榔兒 

太着 i 元 了買買 


TRANSLATION 
The  poor  woman  ―  folds  her  arms  on  her 

12 


― m  一 


breast  ―  when  she  has  finished  taking  her  food  ― 
she  goes  out  for  a  strall  ―  and  buys  betelnuts  ― 
and  tobacco. 


TRANSLATION 

Who  knocks  at  the  door  ？  一  the  small  dog 
barks  一  a  lady  relation  has  arrived  ―  in  a  hurry 
I  put  on  my  embroidered  shoes  一  but  my 
anklebands  have  fallen  down. 


GXLVIII 


兒  了 

g 門 到  了 

^ 的汪 來鞋掉 

c 我 汪太花 

柏 5g 太穿兒 

誰狗 家着腿 

是小 親忙裤 


過 兒 

，麼 多呀 

哥怎百 

哥兒 二 兒 

二 頭兒花 

哥， 年麪開 

哥， 個子豆 

大 這棒屬 


一  m  一 


NOTES  " 

年 頭 nien^  t'ou ？，  the  crops  of  the  year.  怎 麼 
過 tsen''  mo  kuo's  how  will  it  be  possible  to  live  ？ 棒 
子 J5  pang'-tzu-mien''  flour  of  Indian  corn.  二百多 
eur''  pai*  too',  more  than  two  pai  for  a  cbini,  a  Chinese 
pound.    The  last  verse  has  no、  sense  and  ends  the 

0   rhyme  as  the  person  tries  to  divert  the  attention 

、 to  another  subject. 

TRANSLATION 

First  elder  brother  一  second  elder  brother  ― 
with  these  crops  how  will  it  be  possible  to  live  ？  一 
Indian  corn  flour  is  sold  at  two  cents  a  pound  ！  一 
the  bean  plant  opens  its  flowers,  Hallo  ！ 


燈 

怎 麽過冬 

NOTES 

反 穿皮澳 fan'  ch'uan'  p，i')  ao?，  wearing  the  fur 
coat  with  the  fur  outside,  to  feel  warmer.  Here  the 
words  are  said  to  have  a  laugh  at  the  Shan-hsi 
men.  王老八 uang-  lao'  pa'  is  instead  of 老 王八, 
the  old  turtle. 


is! 洽他 

K  ,正 去嫩八 

^ 月 兒還老 

G 正 1 澳王 

裏老 皮的 

月 個穿裏 

正 七反河 


一  196  一 


TRANSLATION 

In  the  first  month,  in  the  first  month  ―  seven 
Shan-hsi  people  go  out  in  the  streets  to  see  the 
lanterns.  ―  they  wear  their  furs  outside  and  yet 
they  feel  cold  ―  but  look  at  the  turtles  in  the  river, 
how  do  they  manage  to  live  through  the  winter  ？ 


小 碟子兒 

NOTES 
烏 木 u，  mu\  ebony  wood. 

TRANSLATION 
The  small  boy  has  opened  a  shop  —  he  has 
opened  a  shop  with  two  front  doors  ―  with  small 
tables  ―  and  small  chairs  ―  and   chop-sticks  of 
ebony  wood. 


CLI 

小姑娘 作一夢 
夢 見婆婆 來下定 


S3 開兩  兒 

兒兒 兒兒子 

子鋪 子子筷 

小開 棹椅木 

小開 小小烏 


一  197  一 


眞金條 
裹金條 

扎 兒裙子 誘花兒 換 
NOTES 

下 定 hsia*  ting's  the  future  mother-in-law  goes 
to  the  bride's  parents  and  presents  the  bridal  gifts. 
After  this  ceremony  the  marriage  is  considered 
fixed  and  the  girl  cannot  on  any  account  be  betrothed 
to  another  man.  金 條 chin'  t'iao-,  short  golden  rods 
sold  in  the  gold-shops  called 金 店 chin'  tien''.  Each 
rod  may  weigh  generally  from  one  to  four  Chinese 
ounces  ( liang  ).  裹金條 kuo'  chin'  t'iao-,  sham  gold 
rods  given  sometimes  as  gifts. 

TRANSLATION 

The  small  girl  ―  has  had  a  dream  —-  she  has 
dreamt  of  her  mother-in-law  coming  to  give  her 
the  bridal  gift  ―  real  gold  rods  一  and  sham  gold 
rods  ―  a  gown  with  stitched  flowers  ―  and  d  cloai^ 
with  embroidered  flowers. 


麽 

子 作 

n 肉 家耗頭 

口 看拏丫 

吃會會 M 

% 狗貓你 

活 活活活 

養 養養養 


一  108  一 


NOTES 

These  words  are  playfully  said  by  parents  to 
their  small  daughters.  一  口肉 i'  jou's  a  mouth- 
ful of  meat,  some  meat. 

TRANSLATION 
If  we  keep  a  pig  一  it  is  in  order  to  enjoy  a 
good  piece  of  meat  ―  if  we  keep  a  dog  ―  it  is  in 
order  to  have  him  watch  the  house  ―  if  we  keep 
a  cat  ―  it  is  to  have  him  eat  the  mice  一  but  to  keep 
a  maid  like  you  ―  what  is  the  use  of  it  ？ 


CLIII 

m 兒 


. .  NOTES 

喜  兒 hsi3  V，  may  be  shortened  from  喜 
雀  hsP  ch'iao"',  a  magpie,  but  here  it  is  used 
as  a  common  nickname  for  children,  meaning 
"joy".  凉粉兒 liang2  fen^  ，r，  fresh  powder, 
is  white  bean -flour  which  in  summer  time  is 
kept  by  merchants  in  a 巧 ice-box  to  sell  it  cool. 
纏 子 kiuan'*  tzu\  a  pot  taken  around  by  the  bean- 
flour  sellers,  in  which  they  keep  a:  sort  of  sauce  to 
season  their  ware  before  selling  it  to  customers. 


兒媳兒 

本個腿 

了了條 

賠娶 一 

兒 《^ 子 

喜粉繕 

兒凉了 

喜賣 W 


― 199  一 


—條 腿兒 ii  t，iao?  t'uei'V,  (with)  one  leg.  It  must 
however  be  noticed  that  this  phrase  also"  meaflS 
in  Pekinese  language  "  very  harmonioiisly,  very 
peacefully "  when  speaking  of  a  loving"  husband 
and  wife  :  as  the  two  persons  were  only  one,  tied 
one  to  the  other,  having-  one  leg  in  two  and 
therefore  with  one  will  and  wish.  --' 

TRANSLATION 

Joy,  Joy  ―  sells  cool  bean-flour  ―  but  he  ha$ 
broken  the  sauce  jar  ―  and  has  forfeited  his 
capital  ―  now  he  has  married  a  wife  一  with  one 
leg  ( or,  and  he  is  very  happy  with  her ). 


GLIV 


婆 
樹 


NOTES  ― 
These  first  verses  refer  to  the  ceremonies  of  a 
marriage  procession,  so  often  mentioned  before. 
― According  to  Chinese    folk-lore  it  is  related 
that  in  the  moon    there  is  a  big    tree  called 


. ^兒河 

靠羅天 

兒娑靠 

來 婦着緊 

鼓 媳靠女 

着鑼 的爺織 

靠靠 娶壳郧 

鼓鑼 新月牛 


一  m) - 


资 羅兒樹 suqi  luo?  r  shu'  (  Shore  a  robusta  )  on 
which  the  father  moon  leans.  The  word  solo  is 
derived  from  the  Sanscrit  sala.  In  the  first  two 
verses  the  word  k，ao,  to  recline,  to  lean,  is  used 
in  the  sense  of  to  be  contiguous,  near,  in  great 
number.  牛  %\l  niu?  lang-  or  also 牽 牛 ch'ien'  niu-', 
the  constellation  of  the  Herdboy.  織 女 chih'  nii^  the 
Spinning  damsel,  another  constellation.  The 
former  and  the  latter  are  placed  each  at  one  side  of 
the  milky  way  ；  the  Chinese  consider  them  to  be 
husband  and  wife  and  say  that  once  a  year  they 
succeed  in  seeing  each  other  by  a  curious  expedient. 
The  magpies  form  themselves  into  a  bridge  over 
the  milky  way  ( 天 河 t'ien'  ho"  and  the  pair  get  on 
the  bridge  and  meet.  Many  particulars  are  related 
about  this  annual  interview  ；  there  is  also  a 
fantastical  play  called 渡銀河 tu^  yin^  ho-,  the 
" Crossing  of  the  silver  river  "  in  which  the 
adventures  and  sorrows  of  this  loving  pair  are 
exposed  to  mortal  eyes, 

TRANSLATION 
( In  the  marriage  procession  )  drums  succeed 
drums  ―  and  gongs  succeed  gongs  ―  a  newly 
married  bride  relies  on  her  father  and  mother-in- 
law  ― the  father  moon  reclines  on  the  Shorea  tree 
― and  the  constellations  of  the  Herdboy  and  the 
Spinning  damsel  each  lie  on  one  side  of  the  milky 
way. 


― 洲 一 


CLV 

哩 
NOTES 

Pekinese  boys  sing  these  words  to  imitate  the 
street-call  of  the  flower  sellers.  The  two  sounds 
which  I  have  written 得 哩 to-li,  and  occur  three 
times  in  these  verses  are  altogether  phonetic  and 
with  no  meaning  tone  or  accent  ；  so  the  first  verse 
is  pronounced  as  if  it  were  written  hung  toll.  指 
甲草兒 chih-'  chia^  ts'ao''  r  (  pronounce  chih-  chia'  )  lit. 
finger  grass,  is  the  China  balsam  (  Impatiens 
balsamina )  with  whose  red  flowers  Chinese  ladies 
dye  their  fingers,  as  the  Arab  women  with  the 
henne.  The  flowers  of  this  plant  may  have 
different  shades  of  colour  from  plain  white  to  deep 
red,  and  are  also  called 鳳 仙 花 feng*  hsien<  hua<. 
翠赛: 兒 ts'uei'  ch'iao"  r,  the  larkspur.  花鬚兒 
hua<  hsu''  r，  stamens  and  style  of  flowers.  矮 康 ai' 
k'ang',  an  aromatic  plant,  basilic  (Odmuni  basilicum)^ 

TRANSLATION 

Here  is  the  red  ！  一  China  balsam  ―  here 
is  the    blue  ！  ―  the   larkspur  ―  with  seven 


兒 兒得兒 

鬚 瓣玉尖 

根個香 w 

七丄 (腕藹 

哩 草 哩 兒 

得甲得 € 

紅 指藍翠 


,  一  202  一 

stamens  ―  and  six  petals  ―  the  tuberose  一  and 
the  basilic  grass. 


的 


子 茶 
NOTES 

It  happens  very  often  in  a  family  that  all 
the  brothers  marry  and  do  not  live  in  separate 
establishments.  All  the  young  wives  live  together 
and  in  order  to  distinguish  them,  the  elder 
brother's  wife  is  called  ta''-niang",  the  second  bro- 
ther's eur''  niang2  and  so  forth.  In  this  way  a  system 
of  subordination  prevails  in  the  family,  and  the 
older  wives  indulge  rather  often  in  teasing  the 
younger  ones,  The  ta''-niang-,  this  powerful  chief  of 
this  female  clan  has  a  greater  authority  than  all 
and  is  consequently  allowed  to  brew  the  most 
mischief  possible  in  the   family.    猜 ts'ai',  lit.  to 


才 的的來 斗 菓 

^  奴來 來娶手 大牙個 

^ 猜醜偷 跑兒的 一 的暍 

娘我是 是轎家 瑶家愛 

二罵不 不緑奴 瑪奴兒 

娘娘也 也紅瞧 珠瞧小 

大三我 我花贈 金鹏從 


一 膽 ― 


guess,  to  solve  riddles,  very  probably  means  here 
fo  guess,  to  doubt,  to  make  investigations,  suppo- 
sitions on  the  woman  who  is  the  plaintiff  in 
the  song,  the  youngest  wife  who  complains  of 
having  been  insulted.  醜奴才  ch'ou:;  nu -、'  ts'ai- 
" u^ly  slave  "  a  must  insulting  appellation  to  a 
woman  who  has  been  legally  married,  implying 
that  she  is  not  a  legal  wife  but  a  bought  slave. 
® 來 的 t'oui  lai:  ti,  to  come  stealthily,  that  is  to 
say  come  and  live  with  a  man  without  any  legal 
and  customary  sanction.  The  same  meaning  is 
very  curiously  expressed  in  the  phrase 手；^ 手 
5il  5l5  的 shou'  la'  shou'  lai-  ti  一  lit.  "to  come  taking 
each  other  by  the  hand  '•  that  is  said  of  two 
persons  who  like  each  other  and  without  pa- 
rental permission  and  the  ordinary  ceremony 
take  each  other  by  the  hand  and  go  and 
live  together.  ―  After  that  in  English 
would  be  found  "  but  ，'；  this  most  interesting 
particle  is  wanting  here.  花紅輸 hua' hung?  chiaaS 
" the  chair  as  red  as  (  red  )  flowers,  in  which  the 
bride  sits,  when  she  is  taken  from  her  own 
paternal  house  to  her  husband's.  緑 輯 lu'  chiao's 
one  or  two  green  chairs  in  which  sit  some  of  the 
girl's  relations  to  take  her  to  the  new  home.  奴 家 
na-  chiai,  a  term  of  modesty  used  by  wives  for  "I" ― 
瑪璃 ma^  nao',  cornelion.  粟子茶 kuo;  tzu  ch，a?， 
" tea  with  sugared  fruits,  as  taken  by  rich  people. 


一  m  ― 

TRANSLATION 

The  first  wife  and  the  second  wife  play  at 
guissing  riddles  ―  the  third  wife  insults  me  as 
" an  ugly  slave"  ~ -  but  I  did  not  come  here 
stealthily  ―  nor  did  I  run  away  to  come  here  ―  I 
was  married  and  taken  here  in  a  red  chair  and 
was  followed  by  green  chairs  一  look  here  at  my 
hands  ！  -一  I  could  fill  a  big  peck  with  the  gold 
pearls  and  cornelion  that  I  wear  ―  look  here  at  my 
teeth!  ―  since  I  was  a  child  I  have  been  accustomed 
to  take  "  tea  with  candied  fruits  ,，. 


CLVII 


兒 

兒  的 

根 達姓  家 

有 兒達娃  看 

W 人胖愛  個 

兒 個兒的 —I 作  兒 

子 死 子家； S  裏 ！門 

小愛小誰人人家，^5,^銷 

胖 可胖是 美美到 人人用 

小你小你買買買有沒>^： 


NOTES 

兒 ken."  r,  no  recognized  character  exists 


― 203  一 


for  this  word  which  means,  amusing,  pleasant.  \ 
These  words  are  from  a  mother  to  her  own  boy. ― 
愛 死 ai'i  ssti3，  to  cause  somebody  to  die  of  love. 
胖達達 P，ang''  ta'  ta',  very  fat  and  big  ；  observe 
here  ta'  for  ta-.  愛娃娃 ai''  ua-  ua-,  a  beloved  child. 
美人兒 mei:'  jen-'  r,  a  beauty,  said  particularly  of 
women,  but  here  of  the  boy. 

TRANSLATION 
This  fat  boy  of  mine  really  amuses  people  ！ ― 
you  really  make  people  die  of  love  ！  一  this  fat  boy 
of  mine  how  big  he  is  ―  (now,  tell  me)  whose 
beloved  child  are  you  ？  ―  who  wants  to  buy  a 
beauty  I  who  wants  to  buy  a  beauty  ！  ―  when 
bought  and  taken  home  he  may  be  employed  in 
looking  after  the  house  ―  never  mind  whether 
there  are  other  people  or  not  ―  it  will  be  o^tQ 
useless  to  shut  the  door  with  a  key."-,  '-'  'V' 仏、、 


CLVIII 


NOTES 

戰 pan's  the  division  of  a  hoof.    The  description 


兒頭頭 

牛 辮後上 

一 分蘇脖 

上 子在在 

山 蹄長長 

高 個巴袋 

高四尾 腦 


一  m\  一 


of  this  extraordinary  ox  will  no  doubt  interest  the 
reader. 

TRANSLATION 
On  a  very  high  mountain  there  is  an  ox  - ~~ 
which  has  four  hoofs  and  eight  toes  ―  his  tail  is 
grown  under  his  rump  ―  and  his  head  is  placed  on 
his  neck  ！ 


CLIX 

包 


箍腰 
NOTES 

These  words  are  sung  by  children  who  want 
to  imitate  the  itinerant  vendors  of  a  drug-  for 
professional  wrestlers,  which  is  called 壯 藥 chuang'' 
yao''.  Is  is  made  into  black  pills,  called 百 輔增力 
-J^  puo-  pu-'  tsengf  li'  uan-,  "  the  hundred  times  forti- 
fying pills.  鬧 nao',  is  not  here  in  its  original 
meaning  but  instead  of 買 mai',  to  buy;  the  expression 
is  only  used  in  Pekinese  slang.  大 爺 ta''  ye?，  vulgar 
appellation  for  a  gentleman  whose  name  and  titles 


一 摄跤 大 

鬧愛 私官脚 

們了  拷跛 

包你吃 是是的 

一 有爺 們們着 

買還大 你你開 


一  207  一 


are  unknown.  搭 ^  liao''  chiao' ,  to  wrestle.  私 践 
ssa<  chiao',  wrestling  among  friends  in  a  club  (廠 子 
ch'ang"-tzu )  where  there  is  daily  practice  for  private 
entertainment  or  with  the  view  of  entering  by 
means  of  the  examinations  the  Imperial  wrestlers 
Corps,  whose  perfect  and  official  wrestling-school 
is  called 官 狡 kuan'  chiao'.  開着的 k'ai'  cho'  ti，  all 
this  verse  is  composed  of  technical  wrestling 
terms;  this  one  may  possibly  mean  to  give,  to  play 
a  stroke,  a  move.  跌 脚 p'uo'  chiao',  to  kick  the  ad- 
versary on  the  ankle  in  order  to  make  him  lose 
his  balance  and  fall.  編 腰 ku'  yao'.  catching  the 
adversary  by  the  waist  to  throw  him  to  the  ground 
by  sheer  superiority  of  stre 〜^！ \ti 


CLX 

初三四 
了一個 


兒 

秀 寳貝兒 


子 

兒 


二活兒 兒顿瓜 

初養 * 八脖袋 

一 媽禿 禿了腦 

初禿吃 抱禿禿 


NOTES 

These  verses  are  completely  devoid  of  any  sense 
A 兒 pa'r，  name  of  the  child. 


― 漏 一 


TRANSLATION 
On  the  first,  on  the  second,  on  the  third  and 
on  the  fourth  ―  the  hairless  mother  has  given  birth 
to  a  hairless  treasure  ―  who  sucks  a  hairless  breast 
― she  embraces  the  hairless  young  Pa  ―  who  has 
a  hairless  neck  and  a  ha  rless  head. 


耳 *S 

的過來 你去拏 

NOTES 

These  words  are  said  by  mothers  to  little  girls. 
The  character  奢 is  read  here  sha-  which  means  in 
country  dialect  what  ？  and  is  used  instead  of  the 
Pekinese 甚麽 shemmo:;.  The  first  form  is  in  Peking 
used  only  In  mockery.  耳 挖 eiir^  ua'，  an  ear-pick. 
The  women  generally  wear  a  silver  one  stuck  in 
the  hair  above  the  left  ear.  Sometimes  like  other 
silver  head-gears,  it  is  gilt.  搖 銅 鼓兒的 
iao'  t'ung'  ku'  'r  ti,  a  man  who  goes  around  in  the 
street  shaking  a  brass  drum,  and  selling  hair-pins, 
generally  brass  ones. 

TRANSLATION 
What  do  you  want,  what  do  you  want  ？  ―  you 


^ 奢大兒 

c 要的鼓 

你金銅 

奢包搖 

要要着 

你你等 


一  209  一 


want  a  big  gilt  ear-pick  ―  wait  till  the  man  with 
the  brass  drum  comes  over  and  then  go  take  it. 


m 

兒本是 海中仙 


NOTES  ' 
This  rhyme  is  sung  by  boys  who  go  round  on 
new-year's  eve  to  wish  good  luck  to  the  families 
in  the  neighbourhood  and  to  get  the  gift  of  some 
cash.  The  style  is  not  altogether  su-hua.  鞭 炮, 
pien'  p'aai  "whip  crackers "  a  sort  of  fire-crackers 
which  sound  like  the  cracking  of  a  whip.  把張開 
pa''  chang'  k'ai',  "people  open  their  accounts''  the 
shops  which  have  been  shut  for  three,  four  or  more 
days  at  the  festival  of  the  New-year,  choose  a  lucky 
day  to  reopen  the  shop  and  recommence  business. 
This  ceremony  is  performed  with  solemnity  and 
with  a  number  of  fire-crackers  in  proportion  to  the 

13 


I 開 兒坐海  羣  順 

§ 張邊間 劉銀了  六 

C 把兩中 2 撒成 樹盆六 

晌神子 二馬 錢寳科 

_ 財童 m 金驟 搖聚登 

爆藏財 ^ 撒微 撒撒子 

鞭 增招增 一 三 四五五 


― 210  一 


importance  of  the  shop.  增 福財神 tseng'  fu?  ts'ai- 
shen?，  "the  God  of  wealth  who  increases  happiness"' 
title  of  the  divinity  most  respected  by  shopmen. 
招 財童子 chao'  ts'ai-  t'ung-  tzu^  the  young  man 
who  attracts  the  wealth"  another  divinity  whose 
image  is  pasted  by  shopmen  on  the  shop  door.  All 
the  following  are  also  names  of  divinities.  增福仙 
tseng'  fu'  hsien',  the  Genius  who  increases  happiness. 
增壽仙 tseng'  shou*  hsien*,  the  Genius  who  length- 
nes  one  s  age.  劉 海 兒 liu"  hai:'，r，  name  of  a 
Genius  supposed  to  bring  wealth  to  his  owner.  He 
is  represented  wearing  a  neck  lace  of  gold  pieces. 
成了羣 ch'eng-  la  ch'iin-,  so  many  as  to  form  a  herd 
of  them.  搖錢樹 yao-  ch，ien?  shu''，  a  fabulous  tree 
whose  branches  are  covered  with  gold  and  silver, 
which  falls  down  when  one  shakes  the  tree.  聚 寶盆 
ehii*  pao3  p'en-,  a  fabulous  basin  said  to  be  possessed 
in  former  times  by  a  certain 沈 Shen^;  this  basin  had 
the  useful  quality  of  doubling  the  weight  and  value 
of  the  precious  metal  laid  in  it.  登 科 teng^  k，o', 
to  be  approved  at  the  official  examinations.  六六 
順 liu^  liu'«  shun'*,  six  times  six  may  you  have  favour 
( may  you  find  every  thing  smooth  for  you  ). 


TRANSLATION 

Here  is  the  first  discharge  of  crackers  and  the 
shop  begins  to  receive  customers  ―  on  both  sides 
is  exhibited  the  God  of  wealth  ―  and  in  the  middle 
sits  "  the  young  man  who  attracts  wealth  一  there 


—  sn- 


are also  the  Genius  of  happiness,  the  Genius  of  long 
life  and  Lui-hair  who  is  originally  a  genius  from 
the  sea  ―  first  let  him  shower  gold  ―  secondly 
let  him  shower  silver  ―  thirdly  let  him  give  you 
as  many  horses  and  mules  as  would  make  herds  of 
them  ―  fourthly  let  him  grant  you  the  golden- 
tree  ― fifthly  let  him  grant  you  the  Treasure 
casket  ―  five  sons  all  of  whom  shall  pass  the 
examinations  and  a  sixfold  happiness. 


CLXIII 


15 
I 
fc 


NOTES 

This  small  rhyme  is  sung  by  mothers  to  get 
children  asleep  and  to  break  the  evil  charm  which 
forces  them  to  be  awake.  The  Chinese  paste  on 
the  walls  of  the  town  and  even  in  places  of  which 
no  mention  need  be  made  some  words  which,  read 
three  times,  are  thought  to  exert  a  very  favourable 
influence  on  the  events  of  the  day  as  regards  the 
reader.  These  spell  sentences  are  generally  called 
咒 語 chou^  yii'  一  (the  word  chou^  here  is  in  a  good 


哭三天 

夜念大 

個子到 

皇皇 有君睡 

皇皇 家往家 

天 地我過 一 


一  212  一 


sense,  whilst  in  other  phrases  it  may  mean  "  to 
read  incantations  and  spells  against  some  body  ，， 
as  in  the  phrase 咒 Vi^  chou'*  maS  which  means  to 
insult  and  to  wish  bad  luck  to  one  with  ready 
made  words ).  ―  One  of  the  most  common  and 
powerful  spells  is  contained  in  the  first- two  verses 
of  this  rhyme,  as  the  words  which  compose  them 
are  considered  the  most  honourable  of  all  the 
characters.  ―  This  spell  is  jokingly  composed  as 
if  it  were  intended  to  be  pasted  on  walls,  and  not  to 
be  sung  beside  the  cradles  of  babies.  夜哭郞 ye* 
k，u'  lang2,  in  nursery  talk  means  a  young  gentleman 
who  won't  go  to  sleep. 

TRANSLATION 

Heaven  is  imperial  ！  ―  The  Earth  is  imperial 
― I  have  at  home  a  young  gentleman  who  weeps 
during  the  night  ―  Let  all  the  gentlemen  who  go 
by  read  these  words  three  times  一  and  all  the 
family  will  sleep  till  broad  daylight. 


CLXIV 


香苦糖 

、紅 的東 

三 混 關 

水子吃 

爺張 凉小再 

王姓 碗年年 

竈本 一 今明 


一  213  ― 


NOTES 

There  are  two  gods  of  the  hearth,  the  one  is 
Li  and  is  not  married,  the  other  has  the  surname 
of  Chang-  and  is  married.  These  words  are 
supposed  to  be  uttered  by  a  poor  man  who  is 
performing  the  annual  sacrifice  to  the  God,  but  has 
not  money  enough  to  buy  the  sugar  required  for 
the  occasion,  and  can  only  afford  to  prepare  the 
bowl  of  water  for  the  god's  horse  and  three  incense 
sticks.  >J、 子 hsiao'。' tzu  "the  young  man  "  here 
jocularly  used  for  I,  the  undermentioned.  混 的 
苦 hun''  ti  k，u:i，  I  am  living  very  wretchedly. 

TRANSLATION 

O  God  of  the  hearth  ―  whose  surname  is 
Chang  ―  here  is  a  bowl  of  water  and  three 
incense-sticks  ―  this  year  I  am  living  very 
miserably  ―  next  year  you  shall  eat  the 
Manchurian  sugar. 


CLXV 


灰斗灰 就灰斗 

遍進遍 將遍進 

頭還二 還三不 


一  214  一 


拿在手 
喃在口 

看 你進斗 不進斗 

NOTES 

This  rhyme  is  sung  by  boys  in  the  street  to 
insult  opium  smokers.  The  ways  of  poor  opium 
smokers  are  described.  These  unhappy  people 
when  they  have  smoked  the  opium  pill  take  the 
ashes 灰 huei',  mix  them  up  with  saliva  and  make 
a  new  pill,  which  they  place  in  the  pipe-hole  called 
斗 tou3.  This  operation  of  forming  a  new  ball  with 
the  ashes  is  repeated  as  often  as  three  times,  after 
which  the  ash  of  the  opium  loses  all  taste  whatever. 
頭 遍 tW  pienS  the  first  time.  將 就 chiang'  chiu'% 
tolerably  good,  it  can  be  used.  不進斗 pu^  chin''  ton\ 
it  means  "  that  the  ashes  are  no  longer  any  good, 
they  cannot  again  be  pressed  together  to  form  a 
pill,  and  therefore  they  cannot  be  smoked  ；  so  they 
do  not  enter  the  bowl  of  the  pipe.  喃 this  cha- 
racter is  read  an:)  and  nan^,  and  means  to  place  some- 
thing in  the  palm  of  the  hand  and  raise  it  to 
the  mouth  ；  also  to  stoop  down  to  catch  hold  of 
something  with  the  mouth.  The  opium  smokers 
chew  the  opium  ash  when  it  cannot  be  smoked 
any  more. 


TRANSLATION 
The  first  time  the  ashes  ―  may  enter  the  bowl 


一  21o  一 


of  the  pipe  the  second  time  一  it  is  not  so  good  ― 
and  the  third  time  ―  they  cannot  be  used  ―  then 
the  man  rolls  the  ashes  in  his  hands  一  and  raises 
them  to  his  mouth  一  let  us  see  if  this  time  they  can 
enter  this  ( new)  pipe  mouth. 


CLXVI 


NOTES 

The  third  day  in  the  third  moon  is  the  birthday 
of  Hsi'-uang-  mu\  the  western  Royal  Mother,  wor- 
shipped by  the  Chinese. 洞 神 tung^  shen-,  the  Spirits 
are  supposed  to  live  in  grottoes.  靖 p'an'  t'ao' 
flat  peaches.  錄杉 6 會 p'an-  t'ao-  huei's  is  also  called 
the  festival  in  honour  of  Hsi-uang--mu^,  Every  spirit 
in  attendance  is  supposed  to  be  presented  with  a 
peach.  See  the  play  called  P'an-t'ao-huei. 羣 仙 
ch'iin-  hsien',  to  assemble  the  spirits. 

TRANSLATION 
Every  year  there  is  the  festival  of  the  3'^  day 
of  the  third  moon  —  it  is  the  Birthday  of  the  Royal 
Mother  ―  All  the  spirits  in  the  grottoes  come  to 


三 誨壽仙 

月 壽上羣 

三 鏖來會 

個 娘仙酒 

有 娘神美 

年 毋洞桃 

年 王各蟠 


一  216  一 


assist  at  the  ceremony  ―  the  flat  peaches  and  the 
good  wine  can  make  the  spirits  assemble. 


州 的 塔 
兒 甜 

NOTES 

In  this  rhyme  are  collected  some  of  the  rarities 
to  be  seen  in  the  Empire.  沈萬三 Shen' 腿'' san', 
name  of  the  propieter  of  that  famous  treasure-basin 
聚 5f 盆 chd;  Pao:i  p'en-  which  has  been  spoken  of  before. 
翁 州 Ts'ang'  chow',  in  the  Tientsin  prefecture.  It  is 
stated  there  is  an  iron  lion,  in  the  interior  of  which 
there  is  room  for  ten  men.  ^ 州 塔 ching:'  chou'  t，a:!， 
a  high  pagoda  in  Ching-chow,  in  the  Chihli  pro- 
vince ； it  is  stated  it  is  very  high  and  may  be  seen 
at  the  distance  of  fifty  li.  深 州 Shen'  chow',  a  place 
renowned  for  its  magnificent  peaches.  猜口兒 甜 
kang4  k，ou"r  t，ien?，  so  sweet  that  they  fill  the  mouth  ； 
the  same  idea  is  also  expressed  by 殺口兒 fjH* 
shai  k'ou;i  r'  t'ien?. 

TRANSLATION 
The  willow  trees  in  Nanking  ―  The  man  Shen- 
uan-san  in  Peking  ―  the  lion  in  Ts'ang-chow,  and 


^ 樹 三子植 

G 柳 萬獅桃 

大 沈的蜜 

京 京州州 

南 北倉深 


一  217  一 


the  pagoda  in  Ching-chow  ―  and  the  very  sweet 
peaches  in  Shen-chow. 


CLXVIII 


NOTES 

穀 洞 、洞 ku'  tung'  tung',  a  slang  surname  for  a 
sort  of  travelling  cart  covered  with  a  mat  awning- 
a  better  name  for  it  is 太平卓 t'ai''  p'ing?  ch，o'.  野 
台兒戲 ye'  t，ai、'  ，r  hsi''，  performances  on  wooden 
stages  in  the  country,  the  expense  of  which  is  paid 
for  by  means  of  general  contributions  amongst  the 
peasants.  十 ffl 河兒 shih-  li'  ho- ，r，  "the  ten  〃 river" 
a  brook  outside  the  Kiang-tso-men  in  Peking.  By 
its  side  there  is  a  large  temple  in  which  a  festival 
is  held  on  the  24"'  of  the  6'h  moon  :  its  name  is 
老爺 廟 Liio:>  ye-  miao''.  鬧 [*')；  fljj;  nao'  ch'aoi  ch'ao', 
great  noise  and  hubbub. 人 海人山 jen'  hai'  jen-  shan', 


個 大白瓢 


俏 

哥戲兒  賣 

哥兒河 鬧來 一 

俏 台里吵 熱婊過 

個野 十吵重 (姑赛 

着 聽個閙 山的粉 

洞車 坐去、 逝廟 人裏官 

洞平頭 外頭爺 海兒搭 

穀太裏 城同老 人村臉 


― 218  一 


the  men  were  there  as  thick  as  water  and  as  high 
as  hills.  賣 悄 mai'i  ch'iao'',  "  to  sell  attractions  ，， 
means  "to  make  a  display"  to  show  off.  The 
comparison  of  the  girls  head  with  the  white  cala- 
bash is  made  in  mockery- 

TRANSLATION 
In  the  awning-cart  ~  there  sits  a  nice  fellow 
一  he  is  going  outside  the  town  to  hear  the  village 
comedies  ―  and  then  he  will  go  down  to  the  River 
of  ten  //  一  In  the  Lao-ye  temple  there  is  great 
confusion  一  the  crowd  is  enormous,  and  it  is  very 
animated  ―  the  girls  from  the  villages  come  here 
to  display  their  charms  一  and  their  faces  rubbed 
with  white  cosmetics  look  just  like  white  gourds. 


榮 

NOTES 

This  rhyme  is  sung  by  children  on  birthdays. 
The  three  happy  stars  are  the  毒 星 shou''  hsing', 
the  star  of  longevity, 編 星 fu- hsing',  the  star  of  hap- 
piness and  jj^ 星 lu'  hsiii^',  the  star  of  appointment. 


星 生子兒 

y  長貴 w 

^ 福 壽生輩 

c 兒 壽武賢 

老 增生孫 

. 星 福 文孝 

壽 增生子 


一  219  一 


The  spirit  which  presides  over  longevity  is  called 
壽 星老兒 shou''  hsingi  lao  '  ，r. 

TRANSLATION 
The  spirit  of  longevity,  and  the  stars  of  hap- 
piness and  appointment  ―  may  they  increase  your 
happiness  and  your  longevity  so  that  you  may  live 
a  long  life  一  and  have  sons  in  the  literary  career,  in 
the  military  career  and  in  high  positions  ―  may 
your  sons  be  pious  and  your  grandsons  be  for  ever 
glorious. 


CLXX 

多 
兒 

兒一 大串兒 
藍 兒是果 鑿 兒 

NOTES 

搬 不倒兒 pan'  pu'  tao"r，  a  toy  consisting  of  a 
round  ball  of  clay  on  which  is  stuck  a  paper  man 
一  the  plaything  is  so  made  that  in  whatever  posi- 
tion one  puts  it,  by  the  law  of  gravity  it  takes  again 
its  upright  position.  婆 婆 ijl  p'uo-  p，uo?  ch'o',  ladies 
carriage,  another  toy. 風 跑 燕 兒 fcngi  kua'  yen'-'r, 


哥兒倒 車燕莉 

胖藝不 婆蹄糖 

小玩搬 婆風氷 


一  220  ― 


another  plaything  in  the  form  of  a  stick  on  which  a 
thread  is  tied,  not  unlike  a  fiddestick.  On  this  thread 
are  fixed  many  paper  flowers,  which  at  the  least 
breath  of  wind  begin  to  revolve  causing  a  peculiar 
whirring-  round.  水 糖莉魔 ping'  t'ang?  hu^  lu'-, 
some  fruits  as  the  hai-t  ang  are  strung  together  by 
a  thin  stick  and  covered  with  sugar  ；  this  is  called 
a  "  sugar-gourd". 


TRANSLATION 

This  fat  boy  ―  has  many  toys  ―  a  clay  puppet 
•  ―  and  a  small  cart  ―  and  a  great  string  of  paper 
flowers  ―  and  sugar-gourds  stuffed  with  fruits. 


PEKING.  ―  Pe-t'ang  Press. 


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